B    M    D7T    Dm 


the  question  of 

'northern  epirus  at  the 

peace  conference 


BY 


NICHOLAS  J.    CASSAVETES 

Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Pan-Epirotic  Union  of  America 


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EDITED  BY  v'- 

CARROLL  N.    BROWN,   Ph.D/ 


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PUBLISHED  FOR  THE 
PAN-EPIROTIC   UNION   OF  AMERICA 

7  WATER  STREET,  BOSTON,  MASS. 
BY 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS  AMERICAN  BRANCH 

85  WEST  82nd  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

1919 


THE  QIIESTION  OF 

NORTHERNEPIRUS  AT  THE 

PEACE  CONFERENCE 


BY 
NICHOLAS   J.    CASSAVETES 

Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Pan-Epirotic  Union  of  America 


EDITED  BY 

CARROLL   N.    BROWN,    PH.D. 


PUBLISHED   FOR  THE 
•     PAN-EPIROTIC    UNION    OF   AMERICA 

7  WATER  STREET,   BOSTON,   MASS. 
BY 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS  AMERICAN  BRANCH 

35  WEST  32nd  STREET.  NEW  YORK 

1919 


< 


^ 


Copyright  1919 

BY   THE 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
A:iiEiiiCAN  Branch 


PREFACE 

Though  the  question  of  Northern  Epirus  is  not  pre- 
eminent among  the  numerous  questions  which  have  arisen 
since  the  pohtical  waters  of  Europe  were  set  into  violent 
motion  by  the  War,  its  importance  can  be  measured  neither 
by  the  numbers  of  the  people  involved,  nor  by  the  serious- 
ness of  the  dangers  that  may  arise  from  the  disagreement 
of  the  two  or  three  nations  concerned  in  the  dispute. 
Northern  Epirus  is  the  smallest  of  the  disputed  territories 
in  Europe,  and  its  population  is  not  more  than  300,000. 

The  question  "of  Poland  involves  a  population  of  many 
millions  and  the  imperial  aggrandisement  of  Germany. 
The  question  of  Alsace-Lorraine  involves  the  pride  of  the 
French  nation,  the  richest  iron  mines  in  the  world,  and  the 
everlasting  menacing  of  France  by  Germany. 

The  Epirotic  question  does  not  press  itself  upon  the 
attention  of  the  English  speaking  peoples  because  of  such 
weighty  considerations. 

The  struggle  is  not  between  two  nations  trying  to  con- 
quer each  other.  It  is  simply  on  the  one  hand  the  un- 
willingness of  the  Northern  Epirotes  to  accept  the  Alba- 
nian rule,  and  on  the  other  the  anxiety  of  the  Albanian 
chiefs  to  have  the  Northern  Epirotes  included  in  the  Al- 
bania of  tomorrow. 

Possibilities  of  international  difficulties  are  not  expected 
to  ensue  from  the  disagreement  of  the  Epirotes  with  the 
Albanians.  If  worse  comes  to  worst,  there  may  be  a  repe- 
tition of  the  comico-tragedy  of  1914,  during  which  the 
Northern  Epirotes  rose  in  revolt  against  the  Albanian  rule, 
and  hastened  the  downfall  of  a  State  which  had  been 
hastily  created,  and  unwisely  allowed  to  govern  itself  with- 
out even  elementary  knowledge  of  self-government. 

If  the  English-speaking  peoples  are  invited  to  take  in- 


PREFACE 

terest  in  the  Epirotic  question  it  is  on  purely  ethical 
grounds.  After  the  war,  the  English-speaking  peoples  of 
the  earth  will  have  emerged  as  the  arbiters  of  the  destinies 
of  mankind. 

The  world  will  be  better,  or  will  be  worse,  after  the  war, 
in  proportion  as  the  English-speaking  peoples  shall  try  to 
render  justice  fairly,  and  impartially,  or  shall  disregard 
the  rights,  and  prove  indifferent  to  the  liberties,  of  the 
small  nationalities. 

The  Epirotic  question,  then,  is  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  English-speaking  world,  as  to  a  just  tribunal,  and 
the  author  of  this  brief  study  will  feel  justified  in  having 
attempted  to  put  in  print  certain  facts  generally  familiar 
only  to  students  of  Balkan  history,  if  this  just  tribunal  of 
the  English-speaking  world  is  thus  induced  to  render  jus- 
tice where  justice  is  due. 

The  writer  of  this  brochure  is  an  Epirote  himself,  and  it 
may  be  only  fair  to  the  cause  of  those  who  differ  from 
him  on  the  question  of  Northern  Epirus  to  warn  the  reader 
to  be  on  the  watch  for  any  j^artiality  which  may  overcome 
his  sincere  effort  to  bring  out  the  facts  as  honestly  and  as 
truthfully  as  he  knows  how. 

A  certain  reserve  is  generally  maintained  by  people  to- 
ward writings  which  refer  to  persons  or  things  favored  by 
the  authors.  Rarely  do  people  like  to  hear  a  man  praise 
or  even  accuse  himself.  The  opinions  of  others  about  our- 
selves are  more  readily  accepted.  In  attempting  to  j^i'o- 
duce  this  brochure  the  author  is,  therefore,  conscious  that 
he  is  prejudicing  the  cause  to  which  he  is  attached.  If  he 
ventures  to  write  on  the  question  of  Epirus,  it  is  only  be- 
cause in  his  experience  as  a  Secretary  of  the  Pan-Epirotic 
Union  in  America,  he  has  discovered  that  there  are  no 
authoritative  writings  of  any  very  recent  date  on  the  ques- 
tion of  Epirus,  and  that  the  journalists  and  political  writ- 
ers whom  he  has  met  confessed  their  complete  lack  of 
familiarity  with  the  Epirotic  problem. 

The  purpose  of  this  brochure  is  not  to  give  an  exhaustive 


PREFACE 

history  of  the  Albanians  nor  of  the  Epirotes.  The  aim  of 
it  is  to  bring  out  very  briefly  what  the  Epirotic  question 
is,  to  give  only  the  essential  and  outstanding  facts  of  the 
problem,  and  to  allow  the  readers  to  form  their  own  con- 
clusions as  to  whether  the  Province  of  Northern  Epirus 
should  be  included  in  the  future  Albania,  or  whether  it 
should  be  reunited  with  Greece  as  in  1913. 

It  is  also  the  purpose  of  this  booklet  to  bring  to  bear, 
here,  the  testimony  of  the  men  who  have  made  partial  or 
total  studies  of  the  Epirotes,  and  by  quoting  from  their 
writings,  extensively  and  fairly,  to  give  to  the  readers  as 
varied  a  testimony  as  will  enable  them  to  sift  the  facts  and 
establish  the  justice  of  each  of  the  disputant  parties,  the 
Epirotes  and  the  Albanians. 

The  author  will  try  to  prove  that  Northern  Epirus  is 
Greek  in  feeling,  in  thought,  in  culture,  and  in  aspirations 
as  w^ell  as  in  blood.  As  an  Epirote,  he  knows  the  feeling 
of  the  Epirotes,  but  he  does  not  demand  that  his  testimony 
be  believed  except  as  it  is  supported  by  disinterested  and 
trustworthy  authorities.  To  that  end,  he  will  quote  ex- 
tensively from  numerous  writings  on  Epirus  and  Albania 
since  1800  a.  d. 

The  author  wishes  to  express  his  indebtedness  for  the 
valuable  assistance  offered  to  him  by  JNIr.  Evangelos  C. 
Despotes,  the  present  Secretary  of  the  Union,  in  having 
readily  contributed  valuable  information  on  the  Pan-Epi- 
rotic  Union  of  America,  and  to  thank  Professor  Carroll 
X.  Brown,  of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  for  his 
revision  of  the  manuscript  and  supervision  of  the  publi- 
cation of  this  little  book  about  Epirus. 

The  Author, 
Private  N.  J.  Cassavetes, 

12th  Division,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 


Problem 


America  and 


I     The  Epirotic  Problem       .... 

II     The  Albanian  Propagandists  and  Their 

Arguments 

III     History  of  Epirus 

IV     Ethnology 

V     Culture  .... 
VI     Geography  of  Epirus 
VII     Population  of  Epirus 
VIII     Schools    .... 
IX     Economic  Aspects  of  the 
X     Strategic  Aspects 
XI     Italian  Ambitions 
XII     Albanian  Atrocities    . 

XIII  The  Epirotic  Question  in 

in  Great  Britain     . 

XIV  The  Epirotes  in  America 
XV     Conclusion     .        . 

Bibliography 
Appendix  A    . 

Lecture    Delivered    by    Colonel    Murray,    A.M 

M.V.O.,  in   Morley   Hall,  January   7,   1913,   Entitled 
"Nor: hern   Epirus   in   1913." 

Appendix  B 

Communication  of  Mr.  C.  S.  Butler  to  the  "Man- 
chester Guardian"  on  September  30,  1914,  on  North- 
ern Epirus. 

Appendix  C 

Communication  to  the  "Daily  Chronicle"  of  April  7, 
1914,  by  Mr.  Z.  D.  Ferriman,  Author  of  "Home  Life 
in  Hellas"  and  "Turkey  and  the  Turks." 

Appendix  D 

Communication  of  the  Honorable  Pember  Reeves, 
ex-Governor  of  New  Zealand,  to  the  "Daily  Chronicle" 
of  April  11,  1914. 

Appendix  E 

Communication  of  the  Greek  Ambassador  at  London, 
J.  Gennadius,  to  the  London  "Times"  of  AprU  20, 
1914. 


C.B., 


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CHAPTER  I 
THE  EPIROTIC  PROBLEM 

HISTORY    OF    THE    PROBLEM 

In  1912,  the  Greek  and  Serbian  armies  were  sweeping 
the  Turkish  and  Albanian  forces  before  them  in  Epirus 
and  Albania,  and  were  occupying  Korytza  and  Durazzo, 
respectively.  Austria  sent  an  ultimatum  to  Serbia,  and 
Italy  sent  one  to  Greece,  with  the  demands  that  Serbia 
evacuate  Albania,  and  that  Greece  arrest  her  advance  on 
Valona. 

Serbia  withdrew  her  forces  from  Durazzo,  and  ^Ir. 
Venizelos  immediately  checked  the  advance  of  the  Greek 
troops.  Meanwhile,  under  the  auspices  of  Austria,  Ismail 
Kemal  Bey,  a  Turkish  Cabinet  Minister,  declared  the  in- 
dependence of  Albania  at  Valona,  while  Essad  Pasha, 
under  the  auspices  of  Italy,  was  striving  to  make  himself 
King  of  part  of  Albania,  at  Durazzo.  None  but  a  hand- 
ful of  Albanians  joined  Kemal  Bey.  A  handful  more 
joined  Essad  Pasha  in  opposition  to  Kemal. 

The  great  mass  of  the  Albanians  did  not  take  part  in  the 
movement  for  an  Albanian  State.  They  did  not  under- 
stand; they  did  not  care.  They  wanted  to  remain  subject 
to  Turkey,  under  whose  regime  they  were  left  to  them- 
selves, each  clan  under  its  own  chieftain,  free  to  plunder 
and  to  rob  the  Christian  Serbs  in  Macedonia,  and  the 
Christian  Epirots  in  Epirus. 

Austria  was  clearly  intent  upon  creating  difficulties  for 
the  Balkan  Allies  in  order  to  split  up  the  Balkan  Feder- 
ation. Serbia  was  driven  from  the  sea.  Greece  was 
threatened  with  the  loss  of  Epirus.     The  Triple  Alliance 


S>  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

was  ready  to  plunge  the  world  into  the  Great  War.  The 
Balkan  melee  was  offering  an  excellent  opportunity. 

Sir  Edward  Grey  and  President  Poincare  perceived 
the  danger.  They  sought  to  avoid  the  catastrophe.  They 
persuaded  Serbia  to  withdraw  Trom  the  sea,  and  prevailed 
upon  Mr.  Venizelos  to  renounce  the  Greek  claims  on  Epi- 
rus.  Thus,  in  1913,  in  order  to  postpone  the  Great  War, 
Northern  Epirus  was  awarded  to  the  Kingdom  of  Al- 
bania. The  Greek  army  was  forced  to  evacuate  all  the 
territory  occupied  in  1913.  The  Greek  soldiers  with  tears, 
and  amid  the  lamentations  of  the  population,  abandoned 
Northern  Epirus.  The  Albanian  soldiers  were  to  occupy 
the  Province  thus  evacuated.  That  was  in  the  Spring  of 
1914. 

Suddenly,  the  Epirot  population  rose,  and  declared  its 
intention  to  die  rather  than  submit  to  Albania.  The  Epi- 
rotes  declared  their  country  independent  and  autonomous, 
and  completely  defeated  all  the  Albanian  armies  sent 
against  them  under  Austrian,  Turkish,  and  Italian  officers. 

The  Provisional  Government  of  Northern  Epirus,  under 
George  Zographos,  appealed  for  aid  to  the  Powers,  and 
asked  that  Northern  Epirus  be  allowed  to  join  itself  to 
Greece.  ]Mr.  Venizelos,  fearing  European  complications, 
denied  the  Epirot  Deputies  admission  to  the  Greek  Par- 
liament. 

The  Great  Powers  were  forced  to  recognize  the  Auton- 
omy of  the  Epirotes,  but  the  Central  Powers  insisted  that 
autonomous  Epirus  should  be  part  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Albania.  The  representatives  of  the  Epirotic  govern- 
ment were  forced  to  accept  the  terms  rather  than  keep 
up  an  unequal  struggle. 

The  Conference  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Powers 
accepted  the  terms  of  the  Epirotes,  which  were  as  follows: 

(1)  Northern  Ej^irus  is  autonomous. 

(2)  It  recognizes  King  William  of  Wied  as  its  legal 
sovereign. 

(3)  It  sends  deputies  to  the  Albanian  Parhament. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  3 

(4)  The  official  language  of  North  Eph*us  is  Greek. 

(5)  The  language  in  the  schools  is  Greek;  Albanian  is 
only  optional. 

(6)  The  Epirotes  have  their  own  militia,  under  their 
own  officers,  which  cannot  be  used  outside  of  Northern 
Epirus. 

The  accejDtance  of  these  terms,  it  is  clear,  meant  com- 
plete independence  for  the  Northern  Epirotes.  But  no 
sooner  was  the  Protocol  of  Corfu  signed  than  a  revolution 
broke  out  in  Valona.  King  William  of  Wied  fled.  Al- 
bania was  in  utter  disorder.  Hordes  of  irregular  Alba- 
nians began  to  invade  Northern  Epirus.  Massacre,  loot- 
ing and  rapine  ensued.  Mr.  Venizelos,  fearing  for  the 
fate  of  the  Epirotes,  asked  the  Powers  to  be  allowed  to 
reoccupy  Northern  Epirus  for  the  protection  of  the  Epi- 
rotes from  the  savagery  of  wild  jNIussulman  tribes. 

The  Powers  consented,  and  the  Greek  Army  returned 
to  -Northern  Epirus  amid  the  frenzied  enthusiasm  of  the 
population  which  believed  that  this  reoccupation  meant 
permanent  union  with  Greece.  Such  was  the  state  of  af- 
fairs in  Northern  Epirus  in  1914. 

The  diplomats  of  the  Central  Powers  had  made  up  their 
minds  that  Northern  Epirus  was  too  fanatically  attached 
to  Greece  to  be  separated  by  force. 

In  1914,  the  Great  War  broke  out. 

In  1915,  Mr.  Venizelos  was  forced  to  resign  and  all  Al- 
bania was  occupied  by  the  Austrians.  The  attitude  of 
King  Constantine  became  very  suspicious,  and  the  Allies 
ordered  the  Greek  army  demobilized. 

Under  the  pretext  of  protecting  the  Allied  flanks,  Italy 
occupied  Northern  Epirus;  drove  out  the  Greek  civil  au- 
thorities; forced  the  Greek  schools  to  close;  initiated  a 
violent  and  unprecedented  persecution  of  the  Greek 
elergy;  and  imprisoned  all  the  inhabitants  who  refused  to 
call  themselves  either  Italians  or  Albanians. 

The  Albanians,  encouraged  by  this  anti-Greek  policy  of 
Italy,  have  set  out  upon  an  extensive  campaign  of  propa- 


4.  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

gaiula  in  order  that  Northern  Epirus  may  be  represented 
as  Albanian.  The  Albanians,  on  the  one  hand,  are  carry- 
ing on  a  frightful  persecution  against  the  Greek  popula- 
tion, slaughtering,  expatriating,  and  intimidating  the  pop- 
idation;  and  on  the  other  hand  they  are  trying  to  convince 
the  American  and  English  peoples  that  the  majority  of 
the  Northern  Epirotes  are  Albanians. 

The  Epirotic  question  has  two  aspects,  namely,  the 
Greek,  and  the  Albanian.  In  its  Greek  aspect  the  ques- 
tion is  a  demand  on  the  part  of  the  Epirotes  to  unite  them- 
selves to  Greece.  In  its  Albanian  aspect  it  is  an  attempt 
on  the  part  of  certain  Albanians,  Austrians  and  Italians 
to  incorporate  Northern  Epirus  in  the  future  State  of 
Albania. 

What  are  the  arguments  of  the  Albanians? 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  ALBANIAN  PROPAGANDISTS,  AND 
THEIR  ARGUMENTS 

1.     The  Albanian  Propagandists  in  America  and  in 

England 

Before  we  give  the  arguments  of  the  Albanian  propa- 
gandists, we  think  it  is  very  necessary  to  explain  who  these 
propagandists  are. 

In  America,  the  Albanian  propaganda  for  the  subjuga- 
tion of  Northern  Epirus  to  the  future  Albanian  State  is 
carried  on  by  three  Albanian  organizations:  (A)  the 
Vatra,  (B)  The  Reverend  Dako,  (C)  and  the  Skyperia. 

THE    VATKA 

The  Vatra,  with  its  seat  in  Boston,  is  by  far  the  most 
notorious  Albanian  organization.  It  has  about  1,600 
members.  The  President  of  the  Vatra  is  the  Reverend 
Fan  Noli.  The  Representative  of  the  Vatra  in  London  is 
Faik  Bey  Konitza. 

The  Vatra  demands  that  not  only  Northern  Epirus,  but 
the  entire  province  of  Epirus,  namely,  Jannina,  Preveza, 
and  Konitza,  be  'attached  to  the  future  Albanian  State. 

The  Vatra  considers  Greece  as  its  great  enemy,  and  its 
polemics  are  aimed  against  that  country. 

The  Vatra  is  pro-Austrian  and  anti-Italian  in  sympa- 
thy. Faik  Bey  Konitza  was  formerly  consul  of  Turkey 
at  Corfu. 

The  Vatra  is  in  favor  of  the  return  of  William  of  Wied, 
ex-king  of  Albania,  and  at  present  an  officer  in  the  Aus- 
trian Army. 

THE  re\t:rend  dako 

The  Reverend  Dako  group  is  bitterly  antagonistic  to 
the  Vatra.     This  antagonism  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the 

5 


6  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Vatra  is  pro- Austrian,  while  the  Reverend  INIr.  Dako  is  in 
favor  of  an  Italian  protectorate  over  Albania. 

The  Reverend  Dako's  views  on  the  future  of  Albania 
are  less  imperialistic  than  those  of  the  Vatra.  The  Rev- 
erend Dako,  while  claiming  Northern  Epirus  as  Albanian,, 
recognizes  that  in  Southern  Ej^irus  the  majority  of  the 
people  are  Greeks. 

THE   SKYPERIA 

The  Skyperia  Society,  with  its  seat  in  Worcester,  INIass., 
is  a  very  recent  organization,  a  schism  of  the  Vatra. 

The  Skyperia  acknowledges  as  leader  not  Faik  Bey 
Konitza,  whom  it  denounces  as  a  traitor  and  a  grafter,  but 
Ismael  Kemal  Bey,  a  former  Turkish  Cabinet  Minister,, 
and  a  pronounced  friend  of  Vienna. 

While  all  three  organizations  are  carrying  on  their  work 
of  making  friends  for  Albania,  and  winning  supporters  in 
favor  of  the  adjudication  of  Northern  Epirus  to  Albania, 
the  Vatra  is  by  far  the  most  energetic  Albanian  organiza- 
tion in  America  and  in  England.  And  it  is  for  this  rea- 
son that  we  consider  here  only  the  Vatra's  arguments  on 
the  question  of  Northern  Epirus. 

Before  we  proceed  with  our  arguments  it  is,  perhaps, 
advisable  to  state  here  that  the  Vatra  does  not  represent 
any  party  in  Albania  itself.  It  is  an  organization  of  Al- 
banian immigrants  here  in  America  and  the  same  is  true 
of  the  Dako  organization.  The  Skyperia  has  supporters 
in  Albania — the  partisans  of  Ismael  Kemal  Bey — few,  in- 
deed, now. 

In  Albania,  no  one  single  organization,  no  one  single 
party  exists  w^hich  can  be  said  to  represent  a  majority  of 
the  Albanian  people. 

In  Albania,  the  people  are  divided  into  clans,  each  clan 
supporting  its  own  chieftain'  against  every  other  clan. 
By  far  the  most  powerful  chief  in  Albania  today  is  Essad 
Pasha,  the  defender  of  Scutari  in  1912,  and  now  fighting 
on  the  side  of  the  Allies. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  T 

We  come  now  to  the  arguments  adduced  by  the  Vatra; 
these  arguments,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  have  so  misled  a 
large  body  of  unsus^Dccting  men  and  women  in  America 
and  England  that  the  Epirotes  are  forced  to  protest 
against  being  taken  for  Albanians,  and  to  refute  these  ar- 
guments that  there  shall  be  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the 
Americans  and  the  English  as  to  the  ethnology,  and  the 
asj^irations  of  the  Epirotic  people. 

2.     The  Arguments  of  the  Albanian  Propagandists 

IMr.  Stavro,  the  Secretary  of  the  Vatra,  in  an  article 
published  in  many  papers  throughout  the  country,  in  order 
to  arouse  antagonism  against  Greece,  wrote:  "Greece 
occupies  by  the  sword  the  Albanian  region  of  Chameria, 
or  Southern  Epirus,  as  the  Greeks  call  it,  and  two  years 
ago  had  invaded  and  devastated  the  Albanian  region  of 
Korvtsa,  and  Argvrocastro,  or  Xorthern  Epirus,  as  the 
Greeks  call  it." 

This  quotation  is  a  statement  coming  from  the  officials 
of  the  Vatra,  and  it  shows  very  clearly  what  are  the  aspira- 
tions of  this  organization. 

"Greece  occupies  Southern  Epirus."  The  Albanians  in 
America  are  convej'ing  the  idea  that  Greece  has  occupied 
Southern  Epirus  against  the  will  of  the  Southern  Epirotes. 
They  furthermore  accuse  Greece  of  devastation  of  the 
provinces  of  Korytsa  and  Argyrocastro,  implying  thereby 
that  these  provinces  are  Albanian. 

If  one  should  ask  the  Albanians  why  they  think  that 
Epirus  is  Albanian  they  will  answer: 

"Because  historically  Epirus  has  always  been  Albanian; 
because  the  Epirotes  are  Albanians;  and  because  Epirus 
is  indispensable  to  the  economic  and  cultural  progress  of 
Albania." 

It  is  a  matter  of  regret  tliat  the  average  American  is 
quite  unacquainted  with  the  history  of  the  Balkan  races, 
and  falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  first  propagandist  who  at- 
tempts to  win  his  attention. 


8  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

The  Albanians,  taking  advantage  of  the  absence  of  his- 
torical knowledge  about  Epirus,  give  out  the  following- 
version  of  the  history  of  Epirus: 

(a)  "Epirus  is  a  part  of  Albania.  Epirus  has  always 
formed  a  part  of  ancient  Illyria.  Pyrrhus  was  Albanian. 
Under  Skender  Bey  Epirus  was  Albanian." 

(b)  "Ali  Pasha,  an  Albanian,  ruled  over  Epirus." 

(c)  "Albanian  Beys  are  in  possession  of  the  most  fer- 
tile soil  of  Northern  Ej^irus." 

(d)  "The  Northern  Epirotes  speak  Albanian." 

(e)  "The  Northern  Epirotes  are  the  only  cultured  peo- 
ple in  Albania.  They  are  heeded  to  become  the  nucleus 
for  the  civilization  of  the  wild  Albanian  tribes." 

To  these  contentions  of  the  Albanian  Propagandists, 
and  of  the  misguided  Albanophiles,  the  Epirotes  answer 
with  the  follow^ing  facts,  dates  and  numbers,  which  w^ill 
speak  for  themselves. 


CHAPTER  III 
HISTORY  OF  EPIRUS 

1.    Ancient 

We  need  not  go  further  back  than  to  Homeric  times. 
In  the  sixteenth  book  of  the  Ihad,  verse  233,  we  read : 

''Zeus,  King,  Dodonean,  Pelasgian,  who  dwellest  afar, 
Ruling  Dodona,  the  wintry,  where  sit 
Around  your  altar  the  Selles,  priests 
Who  never  wash  their  feet,  and  sleep  on  the  ground." 

And  in  the  second  book  of  Iliad,  verse  749,  in  the  enu- 
meration of  the  ships  of  the  Greeks  against  Troy,  Homer 
says : 

"Him  followed  the  Enienes,  and  the  war-like  Perrhebeans, 
Who  dwell  around  the  wintry  Dodona." 

And  in  the  Odyssey,  book  14,  verse  327,  Homer  says: 

"And  ordered  him  (Odysseus)  to  go  to  Dodona  where 
He  would  hear  from  the  divine  and  tall  oak-tree  the  will  of  Zeus, 
In  order  to  return  to  his  dear  native  land 
Secretly  or  openly." 

And  Strabon,  book  2,  page  50,  writes : 

"Theopompus  says  that  the  Epirotes  are  divided  into 
fourteen  tribes.  The  most  glorious  of  all  are  the  Chaones ; 
then,  the  Molossians,  for  these  have  once  ruled  over  all 
Epirus:  first  the  Chaones,  then  the  Molossians,  who  on 
account  of  the  relationships  of  their  kings  (Aekidae) 
grew  strong,  and  Dodona  became  famous  because  it  was 
situated  near  them." 

Now,  the  Chaones,  according  to  the  Geographer  Stra- 
bon, extended  up  to  the  Acroceraunian  Mountains  or 


10  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

where  Xorthern  Epirus  is  today,  while  the  oNIolossians  in- 
hahited  middle  Epirus,  extending  from  ^Macedonia  to  the 
Adriatic  Sea  opposite  Pheacia  or  Corfu. 

Herodotus  (VII,  129-130)  writes  that  the  Perrhebeans 
believed  themselves  descended  from  Apollo. 

Livy  in  book  XXXIII,  chap.  32,  writes:  'The  Per- 
rhebeans preserved  their  name  and  identity  until  Paulus 
Aemilius  subjugated  them." 

The  famous  French  scholar  Duruy  in  his  History  of 
Greece,  writes:  "A  small  district  of  Epirus  was  orig- 
inally called  Hellas.  Then  the  name  passed  to  all  Epi- 
rus, Thessalv,  Beotia,  Peloponnesus  and  Macedonia." 
(Vol.  II,  159.) 

Also  "Epirus  was  the  jjoint  of  contact  of  the  two  peo- 
ples— the  Illyrians  and  the  Pelasgo-Hellenic."  (Vol.  II, 
159.) 

Thucydides,  Book  I,  5,  "The  Thresprotians,  whose  coun- 
try contained  Dodona  and  the  valley  of  Acheron,  where 
the  dead  are  evoked,  were  considered  by  Herodotus  as 
Hellenes." 

Plato  in  his  'Republic  calls  the  Athamanes,  an  Epi- 
rotic  tribe  of  Xorthern  Epirus,  Hellenes." 

Herodotus  in  Book  II,  54,  writes:  "The  oracle  of 
Jupiter  was  established  in  Epirus  by  the  Pelasgians  who 
built  him  a  temple.     The  Selles  were  his  priests." 

Polybius  (VII,  9,  1  sq.)  writes:  "To  the  south  of  the 
Acroceraunian  mountains  (these  are  the  boundaries 
claimed  by  the  Greek  Epirotes  today  as  the  just  bounda- 
ries between  Greece  and  Albania)  begins  Greece." 

Eustathius  in  his  Parecholae  (1:321)  writes:  "Ac- 
cording to  Herodotus  the  extreme  boundaries  of  Greece 
are  Thrace  and  Epirus." 

Rufus  Testus  in  his  Descriptio  Orhis  Terrae  writes  of 
Epirus  as  a  part  of  the  Hellenic  fatherland. 

Scylax  (page  22)  ^vi'ites:  "The  barbarians,  Hiero- 
stamices,  Thesprotians.  Hyllirians,  Hylles,  are  the  II- 
lyrian  nation.     After  the  Illyrians  come  the  Chaonians, 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  11 

the  Thesprotians,  dwellers  of  cities,  then  the  Cassiopeans 
and  the  Molossians,  dwellers  of  cities." 

It  is  necessary  to  notice  that,  in  every  instance,  Epirus 
is  distinctly  separated  from  Illyria,  and,  without  excep- 
tion, considered  a  part  of  the  Hellenic  land.  It  is  im- 
portant also  to  notice  that  the  Thesprotians,  the  Chaonians 
and  the  Molossians  are  not  termed  barbarians.  They  are 
said  to  have  dwelt  in  cities,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
Illyrians,  who  dwelt  in  the  mountains.  Now,  it  is  easily 
inferred  from  this  that  the  Illyrians  were  uncivilized,  while 
the  Epirotes  were  civilized. 

Plutarch  in  the  Life  of  Pyrrhus  writes:  "Tharrythas 
the  king  brought  to  Epirus  the  civilization  of  Athens." 

"The  Illyrians  invaded  Epirus.  A  terrible  fight  en- 
sued in  which  the  victory  cost  the  Molossians  15,000  in 
dead,"  writes  Diodorus.      (XV — 13.) 

Plutarch  tells  us  that  King  Admetus  in  the  fifth  century 
B.  c.  was  called  upon  to  send  help  to  Athens  against  the 
Persians.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Greeks  did  not  ask 
help  from  barbarians,  but  only  from  the  Greeks  in  that 
great  emergency. 

When  Themistocles  was  exiled  by  the  Athenians,  he  was 
very  well  received  by  Admetus,  King  of  Epirus. 

In  429  B.  c.  Tharymbas,  son  of  Admetus,  educated  at 
Athens,  introduced  Athenian  civilization.  His  son  Arym- 
bas  II,  lover  of  art  and  literature,  promoted  learning  and 
philosophy.  To  him  the  philosopher  Xenocrates,  of  Chal- 
cedon,  dedicated  the  four  books  on  The  Art  of  Good  Gov- 
eminent. 

Pyrrhus  in  his  great  expedition  against  the  Romans,  had 
Greek  and  Epirot  soldiers  with  him.  After  having  de- 
feated the  Romans  he  said:  "See  here  an  ordinance  of 
Barbarians  (meaning  the  Romans)  which  is  not  at  all  bar- 
barian." 

Now,  were  not  Pyrrhus  a  Greek  he  would  not  call  the 
Romans  barbarians,  for  only  the  Greeks  called  all  for- 
eigners barbarians. 


12  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Just  before  the  defeat  of  Perseus  by  the  Romans  a 
council  of  the  Aetohans  and  Acarnanians  took  place  to 
consult  on  whether  they  should  accept  the  terms  of  the 
Roman  ambassadors  or  should  resist  Rome  in  alliance  with 
Philip  of  IMacedon. 

Lyssicus,  an  orator,  rose  and  spoke  thus:  "Is  it  worthy 
of  us,  the  descendants  of  heroes,  to  ally  ourselves  to  bar- 
barians and  to  fight  against  our  brothers,  the  Epirotes,  the 
Achaeans,  the  Boeotians,  and  the  Macedonians?" 

And  Agesilaus  of  Sparta  said  to  the  Embassy  of  Philip, 
which  threatened  to  punish  the  Greeks,  if  they  did  not 
assist  him:  "Let  not  Philip  of  Macedon  try  to  combat 
his  brothers,  the  Aetolians,  the  Epirotes  and  the  other 
Greeks.  Let  him  watch  against  the  Romans.  Let  him 
protect  all  the  provinces  of  Hellas.  He  wall  thus  unite  the 
Greeks  and  intimidate  the  strangers  by  the  unification  of 
the  Hellenic  family."      (Pausanias,  58.) 

It  is  very  clear  that  sufficient  proofs  have  been  adduced 
to  prove  that  in  ancient  times  Epirus  was  Greek.  The 
words  of  great  historians,  the  judgments  and  testimonies 
of  reputable  authors,  the  declarations  of  popular  assem- 
blies, defy  eveiy  attempt  to  make  Epirus  Illyrian. 

Thus,  up  to  the  time  of  the  fall  of  Macedon,  Epirus  was 
completely  Greek  in  character. 

This  fact  is  strengthened  by  the  statements  about  the 
enormous  amount  of  loot  which  the  soldiers  of  Paulus 
Aemilius  carried  away  from  the  cities  of  Epirus  to  the 
Imperial  City. 

Duruy  describes  the  fall  of  Epirus  in  graphic  terms. 
(Book  ill,  section  2,  page  235.)  "The  Epirotes  had 
allied  themselves  to  Perseus.  The  Roman  Senator,  to 
make  a  salutary  impression  upon  the  Allies  of  Rome,  pro- 
posed to  treat  the  Epirotes  as  deserters,  w^ho  had  forfeited 
their  lives.  The  punishment  was  that  the  Epirotes  be  sold 
as  slaves.  But  what  severity  this  w^as  towards  a  whole 
people!     Paulus  Aemilius  wept,  it  is  said,  when  he  read 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  13 

the  decree.  Cohorts,  sent  into  seventy  cities  of  Epii'us, 
received  orders  to  piHage  them  and  destroy  their  walls  on 
the  same  day,  at  the  same  hour.  The  hooty  was  so  large 
that  each  foot-soldier,  after  having  laid  aside  for  the  treas- 
ury the  gold  and  silver,  received  200  denarii.  Each 
trooper  received  400  denarii.  One  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand Epirotes  were  sold  as  slaves.  Paulus  Aemilius  sailed 
to  Rome  in  the  galley  of  Perseus.  The  triumphal  proces- 
sion lasted  three  days,  so  vast  was  the  amount  of  the  spoils. 
On  the  first  day,  the  statues  and  pictures  were  carried 
through  the  streets.  On  the  second  day,  a  long  train  of 
wagons  loaded  with  weapons,  and  3000  men  carrying  750 
vases,  each  of  which  contained  three  talents  in  coined  sil- 
ver, and  other  vases  and  cups,  remarkable  for  their  size  or 
their  beauty  of  design,  passed  through  the  streets  of  Rome. 
On  the  third  day,  soldiers  carried  the  coined  gold  in  77 
vases,  three  talents  in  each,  400  wreaths  sent  by  the  cities 
of  Greece  and  Asia,  vases  with  gold,  and  gems  and  an- 
cestral gold  cups.  Then  followed  the  captives,  among 
whom  were  the  children  of  Perseus  and  Kotys,  the  King  of 
Epirus." 

This  passage  from  Duruy  dispels  all  doubts  as  to  the 
ethnology  of  the  Epirotes.  If  the  Epirotes  had  been 
Illyrians,  they  would  have  been  barbarians.  They  would 
not  have  had  seventy  cities,  nor  the  marvellous  riches  and 
art  treasures  which  Paulus  Aemilius  carried  to  Rome. 

But  we  may  add  that  the  coins,  and  the  tablets  of  that 
period  show  beyond  doubt  that  the  Epirotes  were  Hellenes. 

In  Duruy's  History  of  Greece  (III,  section  2,  page 
237)  we  read  on  the  votary  tablet  of  the  Athenians  pre- 
sented to  the  God  of  Dodona  after  the  Athenian  victory 
against  the  Spartans,  the  words : 

"The  Athenians  have  voted  it,  having  won  a  naval  battle 
against  the  Spartans." 

The  tablet  was  excavated  by  Carapanos  at  Dodona. 
On  page  235,  book  III,  section ^2,  of  the  same  author  one 


14  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

can  see  a  coin  of  the  ^lolossians  with  the  inscription  in 
Greek,  "Molosson,"  with  a  shield  and  a  thunderbolt,  the 
insignia  of  Zeus. 

There  are  scholars  who  differ  from  this  view  as  to  the 
ancient  Hellenic  origin  of  the  Epirotes.  The  foremost 
among  them  is  the  German  scholar  Heinrich  Kiepert. 

In  his  Manual  of  Ancient  Geography,  he  writes: 

"The  Epirotes  were  not  originally  of  the  Hellenic  race. 
They  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Illyrians.  After  the 
Peloponnesian  wars,  they  began  to  adopt  the  Greek  lan- 
guage and  manners." 

To  which  the  German  scholar  Fich  replies  thus : 

"The  incorrect  interpretation  of  certain  passages  of 
Thucydides  which  call  the  Epirotes  barbarians,  on  account 
of  their  cultural  inferiority  to  the  Athenians,  has  misled 
certain  investigators. 

"They  have  believed  that  the  Epirotes,  who  were  not 
Hellenes  at  the  beginning,  were  Hellenized  later,  con- 
founding them  with  the  Illyrians,  the  modern  Alba- 
nians. 

"These  confused  notions  have  been  cast  away  all  at 
once,  and  the  cradle  of  Hellenism  has  been  cleansed  of  all 
suspicion  of  barbarism.  The  inscriptions  of  Dodona  show 
us  the  Epirotic  dialect  as  one  of  those  idioms  of  Xorthern 
Greece  which  were  common  to  all  the  Greeks  from  the 
Acroceraunians  to  Boeotia,  and  to  Southern  Thessaly." 

From  the  fall  of  Epirus  under  Paulus  Aemilius  to  the 
coming  of  the  Turks,  Epirus  had  seen  Romans,  Goths, 
Serbians,  Venetians  and  Albanians  as  conquerors. 

This  study  is  not  concerned  with  the  occupation  of  other 
races.  It  is  concerned  only  with  the  magnitude  and  the 
duration  of  the  Albanian  invasion  of  Epirus. 

Twice  was  Epirus  under  the  domination  of  the  Albanian 
tribes.  The  first  time  was  in  a.  d.  1368.  The  Albanians 
invaded  Epirus,  and  tlie  whole  of  Northern  Greece  in  that 
year  under  the  chieftain,  Peter  Leossa.  The  Albanians 
remained  rulers  of  Epirus  and  northern  Greece  until  the 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  15 

year  1422,  when  the  Sultan  Amurad  entered  Epirus,  and 
drove  the  Albanians  beyond  Durazzo. 

The  second  time  was  in  the  days  of  the  heroic  Albanian 
chief,  Skender  Bey. 

The  Northern  Epirotes  and  especially  the  Chimariotes, 
allied  themselves  to  Skender  to  fight  the  Turks  in  a.  d. 
1444. 

In  a  few  years  Skender  died,  and  Epirus  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Turks. 

The  life  of  Epirus  under  the  Turks  is  very  obscure. 
The  coming  of  the  Turks  not  only  destroyed  the  Greco- 
Roman  civilization  of  Epirus,  but  forced  the  learned  and 
the  intelligent  Epirotes  to  seek  new  homes  in  Austria, 
Rumania,  Russia,  Italy,  England  and  France. 

Scholars  and  other  visitors  who  succeeded  in  going 
through  Epirus  before  the  Greek  Revolution  of  1821,  de- 
scribe the  condition  of  the  Epirotes  as  most  tragic  and  de- 
plorable. There  were  no  free  Greeks  after  the  Epirotes 
were  made  slaves  to  the  Albanian  chiefs,  who  upon  the 
death  of  Skender  Bey,  accepted  the  faith  of  Islam,  and 
were  compensated  therefor  with  the  lands  and  the  services 
of  the  Epirotes. 

In  the  year  1804  Pouqueville  visited  Epirus,  as  envoy 
of  France  to  the  notorious  Albanian  Tyrant,  Ali  Pasha. 

This  period  is  the  period  of  the  renaissance  of  the  Greek 
people. 

We  shall  devote  much  of  our  historical  study  of  this 
brochure  to  this  marvellous  period,  as  it  is  a  wonderful 
period  of  Epirotic  action,  a  period  of  heroism,  of  devo- 
tion, and  of  self-sacrifice  of  the  Epirotes  for  the  resusci- 
tation of  Hellenism. 

Among  the  many  writers  on  Epirus  of  this  early  period 
of  the  19th  Century  we  shall  quote  extensively  from 
Pouqueville,  an  acknowledged  scholar,  a  French  Acade- 
mician, and  a  traveler  who  went  to  Epirus  to  study  the 
conditions  of  the  Epirotes  and  to  report  to  his  Govern- 
ment. 


16  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Another  authority  from  whom  we  shall  quote  is  Perrhe- 
bus,  an  Epirote,  a  member  of  the  Greek  Revolutionary 
Committee,  known  as  the  "Philike  Hetaerea."  Perrhebus 
took  part  in  all  the  struggles  of  the  Epirotes  against  the 
Albanians,  served  as  a  captain  during  the  Russian  occu- 
pation, the  French  occupation,  and  the  English  occupa- 
tion of  the  Ionian  Islands,  and  was  a  member  of  the  first 
Constitutional  Assembly  of  Greece. 


2.     Modern  History 
A.     1821 

General  Perrhebus,  whom  we  have  described  as  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  Greek  Revolution,  writes  in  the  intro- 
duction of  his  History  of  Epiriis: 

"Conditions  were  perilous  in  Epirus,  as  well  as  through- 
out the  whole  of  Greece.  It  was  not  possible  for  one  to 
write  a  history  of  Epirus,  especially  in  the  days  of  that 
abominable  tyrant,  Ali  Pasha. 

"But  two  things  there  are  which  have  forced  me  to  be- 
gin to  write  and  to  spread  among  the  Greeks  the  deeds  of 
the  Epirote  revolutionists,  the  Suliotes  and  the  Pargiotes. 
The  one  is  the  increase  in  the  severity  of  the  tyranny,  and 
the  other  the  entreaties  of  the  leaders  of  the  Greek  Revo- 
lution." 

This  brief  introductory  passage  shows  how  crushing  was 
the  Albanian  yoke  upon  the  Epirotes. 

In  1885  appeared  in  the  Fortnightly  Review  of  April 
an  article  by  V.  H.  Caillard,  who  accompanied  a  commis- 
sion sent  by  Gladstone  to  determine  how  far  Epirus  was 
Greek  in  sentiment. 

From  ]M.  Caillard's  observations  one  can  understand 
that  Epirus  since  1806  (the  date  of  the  advent  of  an  Al- 
banian governor)  had  been  subjected  to  a  forced  Albani- 
zation.     The  lands  were  confiscated;  the  religion  of  the 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  17 

Greeks  was  persecuted;  the  schools  and  the  teachers  were 
burned.  The  well-to-do  were  plundered.  Those  who 
dared  assert  their  Greek  nationahty  were  subjected  to 
most  diabolical  tortures. 

The  Greek  population  had  become  slave.  In  order  to 
prox^itiate  the  Albanians,  many  of  them  became  ]Mussul- 
mans.  The  people,  losing  touch  with  their  schools  and 
churches,  were  forced  to  learn  the  Albanian  speech  and 
to  hide  their  Greek  identity  in  order  to  mitigate  the  ruth- 
lessness  of  the  tyrants. 

Pouqueville  gives  us  a  most  vivid  and  gripi^ing  account 
of  what  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes  of  the  cruelty  of  the 
Albanians  to  the  Christians : 

"Ali  seated  on  a  balcony  had  the  unfortunate  French- 
men (200)  brought  before  him  one  by  one  and  beheaded, 
their  heads  and  bodies  being  thrown  into  a  ghastly  heap. 
The  executioner  did  his  work  well  at  first;  but  presently, 
overcome  by  the  sickening  sight,  his  legs  gave  way  under 
him,  and  he  fell  dead  to  the  ground.  Ali  continued  the 
fearful  work  with  his  own  hands." 

Pouqueville  again  writes : 

"Since  1740,  the  Epirotes  had  preserved  a  sort  of  semi- 
independence.  But  when  in  1788  Ali  became  the  Satrap 
of  Jannina,  the  Epirotes  were  subjected  to  a  most  cruel 
persecution.  Ali  devastated  Epirus.  He  robbed  the 
churches  and  the  ancient  temples  to  make  grotesque  pal- 
aces and  mosques. 

"The  province  which  gave  Greek  letters  to  all  the 
Greeks  under  the  Turks,  the  province  which  had  a  Greek 
College,  built  with  funds  donated  by  Caplan  and  Zosimas, 
the  province  which  had  produced  Meletius,  the  famous 
geographer,  Soedonis,  the  Greek  grammarian  and  author 
of  the  first  Greek  dictionary,  and  Psalides,  the  famous 
mathematician,  fell  into  darkness,  and  her  schools  were 
closed. 

"The  court  of  Ali  Pasha  is  open  to  murderers,  crimi- 


18  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

nals  and  perjurers.  His  guards  are  assassins,  his  pages 
are  the  illegal  sons  of  his  depravity,  his  commissaries  are 
mean  Vlachs,  ready  to  commit  any  crime;  his  public  offi- 
cials prisoners  who  take  glory  in  their  crimes.  Ministers 
who  commit  sacrilege  against  the  living  god  are  admitted 
into  the  innermost  dark  council  rooms  in  order  to  disclose 
to  Ali  Pasha  the  innocence  of  the  poor  and  the  secrets  of 
the  confession  of  the  repentant  Christian  Greek  popula- 
tion. Spies,  disguised  in  all  forms,  seek  the  property  of 
the  orphan,  the  widow  and  the  weak.  Timid  virgins,  hid- 
ing in  the  dark  recesses  of  bolted  chambers,  cannot  escape 
his  scrutiny.  The  daughter  is  snatched  from  the  bosom 
of  her  mother;  and  the  son,  the  only  support  and  hope  of 
the  family,  is  taken  away  by  the  Albanians ;  honor,  beauty, 
and  chastity  (male  and  female)  are  sacrificed  to  the  most 
barbarous  and  shameless  passions.  Kindness  and  fa- 
vors never  fall  to  the  lot  of  good  men.  And  yet,  despite 
all  the  orgies  of  impiety,  the  Greek  population  holds  on 
tenaciously  to  virtue  and  to  religious  life." 

"The  Greeks  of  Jannina  are  very  charitable.  Nothing 
has  been  able  to  efface  this  quality  from  their  souls.  They 
never  turn  away  their  eyes  from  a  victim  disgraced  by  the 
Satrap. 

"All  these  unfortunates,  without  distinction,  are  the  ob- 
ject of  their  solicitude.  Thousands  of  innocent  Greeks 
thrown  into  prison  are  taken  care  of  by  the  Christian 
Greeks. 

"The  clergy,  the  bishops,  the  monks,  and  the  priests,  by 
whom  the  worship  of  Christ  was  made  to  survive  the  Fall 
of  the  Greek  Empire,  comforted  the  Greeks  by  teaching 
them  that  being  born  Christians  they  should  always  think 
of  their  freedom. 

"Near  Lucovo,  at  the  sight  of  the  men  of  Ali,  whom 
the  people  recognized  from  afar,  the  inhabitants  had  closed 
their  gates  as  at  the  approach  of  an  enemy.  So  justly  is 
the  name  of  those  belonging  to  the  Pasha  of  Jannina 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  19 

liated.  While  we  were  passing,  the  inhabitants  hurled 
curses  upon  us. 

"We  came  near  Oudessovo,  which  in  1798  was  a  beauti- 
ful village,  and  now  had  only  one  villa  of  Ali  Pasha.  All 
the  inhabitants  had  been  murdered  because  they  had  been 
Christian  Greeks. 

"Then  we  came  upon  the  town  of  Hagios  Vassilios,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  had  also  been  butchered  in  1798  by 
the  Albanians  and  the  town  was  nothing  but  ruins  now." 

"We  passed  by  Nivitza  Bouba,  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed in  AjH-il,  1798. 

"As  we  were  approaching  Delvino,  we  heard  shots.  An 
Albanian  officer  returning  announced  that  Ali's  forces 
were  taking  Delvino.  He  advised  me  that  it  was  not  safe 
for  me  to  appear  as  a  Christian.  He  gave  me  Albanian 
dresses. 

"We  entered  Delvino.  Flames  were  rising  from  the 
town.     The  Albanians  had  pillaged  and  set  it  on  fire. 

"The  officer  informed  me  that  he  was  showing  too  much 
kindness  to  a  Christian.  He  said  that  every  IMohamme- 
dan  who  shows  friendship  for  the  Christian  is  of  a  dubious 
character  and  unworthy  of  the  true  Faith  of  the  Prophet. 

"We  entered  Dridgsi.  An  Albanian  crier  went  out  and 
demanded  of  the  Greek  people  that  each  family  should 
bring  two  lambs,  chickens,  milk,  cheese,  butter,  eggs,  wine, 
bread,  and  fodder  for  the  horses. 

"It  is  impossible  to  describe  how  difficult  it  has  proved 
for  me  to  study  the  Greek  people  of  this  Province  owing 
to  the  suspicions  of  the  ruling  Albanians. 

"But  my  observations  have  persuaded  me  that  their 
large  numbers,  their  courage,  their  industry,  and  their  ac- 
tivity will  some  day  chancre  the  face  of  Greece." 

Some  time  later  Pouqueville  wrote : 

"Hellas  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus 
was  destined  to  rise  again  among  the  free  nations  of  the 
world. 

"The  Epirotes,  guided  by  the  lights  of  their  ancestors, 


20  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

found  again  civilization.  Without  freedom,  M'ithout 
money,  abandoned  by  all  the  Christian  world,  inspiring  in 
strangers  only  a  barren  pity,  a  disheartening  indifference, 
and  more  often  insulting  depreciation,  they  were  regener- 
ating their  country.  They  had  always  looked  upon  them- 
selves as  prisoners  of  war,  never  as  slaves." 

And  Eaton,  an  English  traveller,  wrote  in  his  Voyage 
(II,  p.  72)  :  "The  Greeks  are  like  generous  racers 
champing  at  their  bit,  and  indignant  at  the  yoke  which 
presses  them." 

Again  Pouqueville  writes : 

"The  forty  villages  of  Zagori  became  fiefs  to  Ali  Pasha. 
And  for  that  reason  the  Zagorites  abandoned  their  homes 
and  flocks  and  fled  to  other  parts  of  the  world." 

General  Perrhebus  dedicates  his  History  of  Epirus  to 
Greece  and  apostrophizes  her  thus : 

"jNIother  Hellas,  I  am  too  poor  to  offer  j^ou  other  gifts. 
I  offer  you  this  book,  that  contains  the  glorious  victories, 
and  acts  of  bravery  of  thy  sons,  the  Souliotes. 

"The  book  I  dedicate  to  you  is  not  full  of  rhetorical  fig- 
ures, nor  of  metaphysical  inventions.  It  contains  the 
deeds  of  your  sons.  It  tells  how  Photos  Tjavellas  and 
others  like  him  rushed  for  glory  and  for  liberty  to  a  glori- 
ous death,  as  to  a  happy  holiday. 

"It  tells  how  even  the  Grecian  women  of  Epirus,  like 
those  daughters  of  Sparta,  rushed  with  arms  in  hand 
against  the  barbarians." 

The  Epirotes  were  brought  to  a  point  of  desperation. 
Many  of  them  left  their  fertile  lands  in  the  plains  and  fled 
to  the  mountains  in  order  to  live  free.  From  these  moun- 
tain fortresses  they  harassed  the  Albanians,  whenever  the 
latter  committed  acts  of  violence  against  the  Greek  peas- 
ants in  the  plains. 

Ali  Pasha  therefore  made  up  his  mind  to  exterminate 
them.  As  a  consequence  a  series  of  wars  ensued  between 
Ali  Pasha  and  these  mountaineers,  which  ended  in  the 
Greek  Revolution. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  21 

After  a  vain  attempt  to  subdue  these  warlike  Epirotes 
of  the  mountains  Ali  Pasha  resorted,  as  was  his  custom, 
to  treachery.  The  English  traveller  Eaton  in  his  Voyage, 
as  well  as  Pouqueville,  published  the  text  of  a  letter  sent 
by  Ali  Pasha  to  the  two  dauntless  Epirot  leaders,  Botzaris, 
the  father  of  the  great  hero  of  the  Greek  Revolution,  and 
Tjavella. 

The  letter  reads  as  follows : 

"My  friends,  Capitan  Botzaris  and  Capitan  Tjavella,  T, 
Ali  Pasha,  send  you  greetings.  I  know  very  well  your 
valor  and  your  manliness.  I  have  great  need  of  you. 
Come  then,  I  pray  you,  as  soon  as  you  receive  this  mes- 
sage. Get  all  your  valorous  men  with  you,  and  come  that 
we  may  go  and  crush  my  foes. 

"This  is  the  time  when  I  need  your  friendship.  Now 
you  can  show  how  much  love  and  friendship  you  have 
for  me. 

"Your  pay  will  be  double  that  which  I  give  the  Alba- 
nians, because  I  know  that  your  bravery  is  much  greater 
than  that  of  the  Albanians. 

"I  will  not  undertake  to  make  the  war  without  you.  I 
shall  expect  you  soon.     I  greet  you. 

"Ali  Pasha." 

This  letter  was  deceitful  and  ruinous  to  the  Souliotes. 
They  knew  that  the  professions  of  friendship  on  the  part 
of  Ali  were  only  a  snare.  But  in  order  to  avoid  arousing 
his  anger,  and  to  supply  themselves  with  food  and  ammu- 
nition, the  Souliotes  decided  to  send  only  seventy  men  with 
Capitan  Tjavella  at  their  head. 

The  Souliotes  wrote  to  Ali  that  seventy  Greeks  with 
Tjavella  as  their  leader  were  sufficient  to  ensure  victory. 

Ali  v.as  much  incensed  but  did  not  give  vent  to  his 
rage.  He  ordered  the  Albanian  troops  to  start  their 
march  northward  against  Argyrocastro.  But  secretly,  he 
had  given  instructions  to  the  Albanian  commanders  to 


22  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

seize  the  Greeks  and  march  against  Souh.  AH  beheved 
that  the  Souhotes,  confident  in  the  presence  of  Tjavella 
■with  him,  would  be  taken  by  surprise. 

As  soon  as  the  troops  approached  the  outskirts  of  Souh, 
All  ordered  the  soldiers  to  have  games,  in  order  that  the 
Greeks  might  participate,  and  in  so  doing  leave  their  arms 
aside. 

While  the  Greeks  were  engaged  m  games,  Ali  ordered 
them  seized  and  bound. 

One  of  the  Souliotes  under  a  rain  of  shots,  escaped  and 
gave  the  alarm  to  the  Greeks,  who  rose,  men,  women  and 
children,  and  occupied  the  strong  mountain  fastnesses. 

Ali  was  disappointed.  He  returned  to  Jannina  and  im- 
prisoned Tjavella  and  his  son  Photos,  w^ith  the  other  sixty- 
nine  men. 

After  three  months  of  imprisonment,  owing  to  the  in- 
creased activities  of  the  Souliotes,  who  desired  to  punish 
the  treachery  of  Ali,  Tjavella  was  called  by  the  Satrap. 

"Tjavella,"  Ali  said  to  him,  "it  is  from  your  hands 
that  I  demand  Souli  today.  I  promise  to  give  you  all  the 
gold  and  every  honor  you  may  ask  of  me.  If  you  refuse 
me,  I  will  have  you  roasted  alive,  you  and  your  only  son. 
Photos,  and  all  your  men  that  are  in  my  hands." 

"So  long  as  I  am  imprisoned  here,"  replied  Tjavella, 
"never  hope  to  possess  Souli.  But  if  you  release  me,  you 
may  hope  to  seize  it." 

"And  how  shall  I  trust  you?"  asked  Ali. 

"You  have  my  only  son  in  your  hands.  My  son.  Photos, 
is  the  dearest  part  of  my  soul." 

This  hostage  satisfied  Ali.  Tjavella  hastened  to  Souli 
and  wrote  the  following  challenging  letter  to  the  Satrap: 

"Ali  Pasha,  I  am  glad  that  I  have  deceived  a  treacher- 
ous man  like  you.  I  am  here  to  lead  my  country-men 
against  a  thief.  My  son  may  perish.  But  I  will  avenge 
his  death  with  desperation.  Some  Turks,  like  you,  will 
say  that  I  am  a  pitiless  father  in  that  I  am  sacrificing  my 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  23 

only  son  to  save  myself.  I  answer,  that  if  you  seize  these 
mountains,  you  will  murder  my  son,  my  family  and  all 
my  peoi^le.  And  I  shall  not  live  to  avenge  their  deaths. 
But  if  we  win,  I  shall  have  other  sons.  My  wife  is  young. 
If  my  son,  young  as  he  is,  is  not  satisfied  to  die  for  his 
country,  he  is  not  worthy  to  live,  and  to  be  known  as  my 
son.  Proceed,  then,  treacherous  Albanian.  I  am  impa- 
tient to  take  vengeance. 
"I,  your  sworn  enemy, 

"Capitan  Lambros  Tjavella." 

Eaton  writes : 

"The  Pasha  did  not  think  it  fit  in  his  first  outburst  of 
rage,  to  put  his  hostage  to  death,  but  sent  him  to  Jannina, 
to  his  son  Veli  Bey,  who  governed  in  his  absence.  I  was 
present  when  the  boy  was  brought  before  him.  He  re- 
plied to  the  questions  put  to  him  with  a  courage  and  a  bold- 
ness which  surprised  everybody.  Veli  Bey  told  him  that 
he  was  waiting  only  for  orders  from  the  Pasha  to  burn 
him  alive. 

"  'I  am  not  afraid  of  you,'  replied  the  boy,  'for  my 
father  will  do  the  same  thing  to  your  father  or  to  your 
brother  if  he  lays  hands  on  them.'  " 

Ali  Pasha  gathered  his  Albanian  forces  and  decided  to 
crush  the  Greeks  of  Souli.  He  appeared  before  his  troops 
and  spoke  to  them. 

"My  brave  soldiers,  you  know  very  well  how  many  evils 
the  infidel  Greeks  have  brought  upon  us ;  how  many  towns 
and  villages  they  have  taken  away  from  us;  how  many 
lands  they  have  snatched  away  from  our  possession.  If 
today  we  leave  them  alive,  they  will  gradually  dare  to  seize 
our  homes,  and  capture  our  wives  and  children. 

"I,  with  your  valor,  have  subdued  all  the  other  Greeks ; 
I  have  put  to  flight  all  my  enemies,  and  now  it  is  a  shame 
that  a  handful  of  robber  infidels  should  make  us  bolt  our 
doors  for  fear  of  them.  Remember  how  much  blood  has 
been  shed  by  our  brethren  the  Ottomans  for  the  conquests 


^4  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

of  these  lands?  Now  it  is  time  for  us  to  avenge  their 
death,  and  to  exterminate  these  troublesome  Greeks.  Our 
forces  are  many  and  brave.  Today  we  need  not  much 
amnmnition.  With  swords  in  hands  we  will  slaughter 
them.  Those  of  you  w^ho  are  valorous,  and  faithful  ]Mo- 
hammedans,  will  show  it  today.  I  promise  to  all  those 
who  enter  Souli  victorious  five  hundred  piastres  each." 

Three  thousand  select  Albanians  rushed  with  unsheathed 
swords  and  swore  by  the  Prophet  not  to  return  until  Souli 
w^as  captured. 

The  battle  raged  for  hours,  without  decision.  Suddenly 
there  was  a  lull  towards  the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon. 
Both  sides  were  exhausted  by  their  fighting  all  the  fore- 
noon under  a  hot  July  sun. 

The  Greek  women  of  the  Souliotes,  taking  this  lull  to 
mean  that  the  Greeks  had  been  completely  exterminated, 
came  together  to  decide  w^hat  they  should  do.  ]\Ioscho, 
the  wife  of  Captain  Tjavella,  rose  and  said  to  them: 

"Sisters,  the  war  has  come  to  an  end.  The  Albanians, 
it  seems,  have  conquered,  and  have  slaughtered  our  men 
and  our  boys — all  our  citizens.  What  must  we  do?  Shall 
we  surrender  to  the  Turks?  Shall  we  become  slaves ?  Or 
shall  we  die  like  our  men  and  our  boys?" 

"Death,  death,"  cried  out  all  the  women. 

"If  you  prefer  death,"  cried  out  JNIoscho,  "take  up  arms 
and  follow  me.  Let  the  old  women  and  the  babies  remain 
behind,  and  let  them  after  our  death  cast  them  down  these 
rocks,  and  themselves  jump  after  them." 

Over  three  hundred  Greek  women  followed  Moscho 
with  arms. 

When  they  came  near  the  battle-field  and  learned  that 
there  had  come  a  lull  to  the  battle  own'ng  to  the  exhaustion 
of  the  combatants,  they  decided  that  it  would  be  an  op})or- 
tune  time  to  attack  the  exhausted  enemy,  and  they  risked 
their  lives  to  save  their  country. 

Moscho  rushed  first,  crying  to  her  followers,  "At  them, 
at  them,  sisters,  why  do  you  look  at  the  dogs?" 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  25 

The  yells  of  the  women  and  the  onrush  of  three  hundred 
Souliote  men  to  their  aid,  so  disheartened  the  Albanians 
that  they  began  to  flee. 

When  Ali  learned  that  his  army  of  three  thousand  Al- 
banians had  been  routed  by  the  women  of  the  Epirotes,  he 
threw  himself  to  the  ground  and  tearing  his  cheeks  he 
groaned  in  Albanian,  "Bo,  bo,  Mendet  Allah."  "Alas, 
alas,  pity  me,  my  God." 

Pouqueville  writes  that  in  this  battle  the  Albanians  were 
10,000  and  the  Souliotes  2,000  strong. 

The  Greek  popular  muse  has  put  into  beautiful  verse 
the  heroic  defense  made  by  the  women  of  Souli. 

"Three  flags  unfurled  'neath  Souli, 
The  one  is  of  Muctar  Pasha,  the  other  o'  Sellictari, 
The  third,  and  proudest  of  them  all 
Belonged  to  proudest  Metzoboni. 
And  Derno  Drakos,  loud  of  voice, 
Cried  out  from  the  high  Souli : 
Where  do  you  go,  you  Scotara, 
And  you,  hound,  Sellictari, 
This  is  not  Harmovo  the  frail, 
Nor  craven  Lamboviza. 
To  make  the  women  widow  slaves 
And  drag  the  babes  to  slaughter. 
This  is  the  Souli,  heroes'  nest. 
Where  women  fight  for  freedom, 
Where  Moscho  girdles  her  broad  sword 
And  cries  to  women,  'Follow, 
Follow  to  slaughter  every  foe. 
Follow  to  strike  a  deadly  blow. 
Follow  to  make  our  sires'  homes  free !'  " 

In  1797  the  French  occupied  the  town  of  Preveza  near 
Parga  in  the  Adriatic  Sea. 

Ali  treacherously  attacked  the  town  with  4,000  Alba- 
nians. The  French  detachment  and  the  Greek  inhabitants 
put  up  a  heroic  resistance,  but  were  cut  down. 

Soon  the  city  of  Nicopolis  was  surrendered.     Two  hun- 


26  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

dred  French  soldiers  were  captured  and  beheaded  at  Jan- 
nina.  More  than  four  hundred  men  (Greeks),  and  one 
thousand  women  and  children  w^ere  carried  into  shameful 
captivity.  The  men  were  slaughtered.  The  women  were 
sold  to  the  haremliks,  and  the  cliildren  INIohammedanized. 

More  than  ten  wars  had  already  been  made  by  xVli 
against  the  Souliotes  and  the  Pargiotes.  He  liad  delivered 
Ei)irus  to  destruction  through  sword,  slaughter,  and  fire. 
He  had  made  the  Epirotes  slaves  to  his  Albanian  mercen- 
aries. He  had  not,  however,  been  able  to  subdue  the 
Souliotes  and  the  Pargiotes. 

Tired  and  despairing  of  defeating  the  brave  defenders  of 
Greek  freedom,  Ali  proposed  peace. 

The  Souliotes  were  in  great  need  of  supplies,  and  al- 
though they  had  no  faith  in  All's  promises  and  agreements, 
they  decided  to  conclude  a  temporary  peace. 

Ali  was  made  to  swear  solemnly  that  he  would  respect 
the  treaty.  Thirty  Epirotes  were  sent  to  negotiate  the 
treat3^ 

Ali  seized  and  butchered  them.  Upon  this  occasion  the 
Epirotes  sent  the  following  letter  to  Ali: 

"Ali  Pasha,  greetings. 

"Your  conduct  does  nothing  more  than  increase  our 
detestation  of  your  character,  and  inflame  our  rage  to  pun- 
ish you  for  your  treachery. 

"Remember  that  so  far  you  have  murdered  treacherously 
forty-seven  of  our  citizens.  You  have  added  to  the  sac- 
rifices on  the  altar  of  our  Fatherland  thirty  more  victims. 
This  additional  sacrifice  makes  us  more  determined  that 
our  freedom  shall  never  be  taken  away  from  us  while  we 
live. 

"All  the  Souliotes, 
"Young  and  Old." 

From  that  time  on  the  Souliotes  decided  unanimously 
never  to  accept  any  more  letters  from  Ah.     Accordingly, 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  27 

all  the  letters  which  came  from  him  were  thrown  into  the 
fire  without  being  opened. 

The  war  continued,  and  the  Epirotes  kept  harassing  the 
forces  of  the  Albanian  Tyrant. 

Ali,  realizing  the  needy  condition  of  the  Epirotes, 
thought  that  a  generous  offer  of  peace  would  induce  them 
to  lay  down  their  arms.  He  offered  them  the  following 
terms : 

1.  To  pay  them  2,000  pounds. 

2.  To  allow  them  to  move  to  any  other  place  in  Greece 
proper,  provided  they  agreed  never  to  return  to 
Epirus. 

The  Souliotes  gave  the  following  reply: 

"Vizier  Ali  Pasha,  we  greet  you. 

"Our  Fatherland  is  by  far  sweeter  than  all  your  money, 
and  all  the  happy  and  fertile  lands  you  promise  us.  You 
labor  in  vain.  We  never  sell  our  freedom.  You  cannot 
buy  it  with  all  the  treasures  of  the  earth.  We  are  de- 
termined to  defend  it  until  the  last  drop  of  our  blood  is 
spilt,  until  the  last  Souliote  is  dead. 

"The  Souliotes, 
"Young  and  Old." 

Then  Ali  attempted  to  buy  off  certain  leaders  of  the 
Epirotes.  He  sent  a  proposal  to  Captain  Zervas.  He 
projjosed  to  him  that  if  Souli  was  surrendered  to  the  Al- 
banians, Zervas  would  receive  eight  hundred  pounds,  and 
would  be  appointed  governor  of  any  province  he  might 
desire. 

Captain  Zervas  replied:  "I  thank  you,  my  Vizier,  for 
the  love  you  have  for  me.  As  to  the  eight  hundred  pounds, 
I  pray  you,  do  not  send  them  to  me,  because  I  do  not  know 
how  to  count  them.  Even  if  I  had  known  how  to  count 
them,  I  would  not  be  willing  to  give  you  one  pebble  from 
my  native  land  in  exchange.  The  high  honors  you  prom- 
ise are  worthless  to  me.     Wealth  and  honors  are  to  me  mv 


28  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

rifle  and  my  sword,  which  defend  the  freedom  of  my  coun- 
try, and  make  my  name  immortal. 

"Souli,  May  4,  1801, 
"Jemas  Zervas." 

Despite  all  his  failures,  either  to  subdue  or  to  expel 
the  Epirotes,  who  clung  to  their  ancestral  traditions  and  re- 
fused to  be  Albanicized,  Ali  was  not  discouraged.  He 
approached  Tjavella  and  promised  to  recompense  him  if 
he  could  persuade  the  Souliotes  to  abandon  Epirus  and 
move  away  to  other  lands  in  Western  Europe. 

The  Souliotes,  surrounded  on  every  side  by  enemies, 
hungering  and  needing  ammunition,  began  to  think  of 
some  arrangement  with  Ali. 

Botzaris,  one  of  the  great  leaders,  was  inclined  to  come 
to  an  understanding  with  Ali,  believing  that  this  Satrap 
would  refrain  from  exterminating  the  Epirotes  if  they 
showed  a  disposition  to  submit  to  him.  But  Tjavella 
urged  that  so  long  as  Ali  lived  tliere  could  be  no  hope  for 
any  humane  treatment  of  the  Greeks.  He  insisted  upon 
war  to  the  bitter  end.  Botzaris  became  tired  of  the  con- 
tinuous wars  which  were  weakening  the  numerical  strength 
of  the  last  defenders  of  Greek  freedom  in  Epirus.  He 
accepted  the  terms  of  Ali.  One  of  the  terms  was  that 
Tjavella  be  expelled  from  Souli. 

Ali  hoped  that  with  the  departure  of  the  most  formid- 
able enemy  of  the  Albanians,  Souli  would  soon  fall  victim 
to  him. 

Tjavella  left  his  country  and  went  to  Parga.  His  wife 
and  children  had  been  given  to  Ali  as  hostages.  From 
Parga  T j  avella  wrote  to  Ali : 

"Most  High  Vizier:  Do  not  imagine,  that  you  will  And 
me  timid  because  you  have  in  your  possession  my  wife  and 
my  children.  The  love  of  my  Country  makes  me  forget 
my  wife  and  my  children.  You  are  in  possession  of  them, 
do  as  you  will  with  them.     As  for  me  and  my  people  we 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  29 

will  never  surrender  to  you  our  arms  while  we  are  alive. 

"December  4,  1803, 

Photos  Tja^t:lla, 
"And  all  the  Souliotes, 
"YouxG  AND  Old." 

Tjavella  returned  from  Parga,  and  tried  to  persuade 
Botzaris  that  Ali  would  show  himself  treacherous  and 
would  ruin  the  Greeks.  He  advised  that  the  Epirotes 
denounce  the  treaty  and  keep  up  the  war  to  the  last.  But 
Botzaris  did  not  follow  this  sound  advice  of  Tjavella. 
The  people  of  Souli  were  thus  divided  into  two  sections, 
one  went  with  Tjavella  at  Kounghi,  the  other  under  Bot- 
zaris remained  in  Souli. 

Ali  sent  7,000  Albanians  to  overtake  and  slaughter  the 
followers  of  Tjavella  before  they  reached  Parga,  but 
the  prowess  of  this  peerless  Greek  warrior  saved  the  day 
for  the  few  hundreds  of  Epirotes. 

Thus  the  heroic  acropohs  of  Hellenic  freedom  in  Souli 
was  surrendered  to  the  cruel  invaders. 

Botzaris  and  his  followers  w^ent  to  Voungarelli,  while 
Photomaras  and  Palaskas,  two  other  great  leaders  with 
numerous  followers,  encamped  near  Zalongon  awaiting 
the  execution  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty  whereby  Ali  was 
expected  to  give  not  only  money,  but  also  cattle  and  lands 
to  these  Epirotes. 

The  monk,  Samuel,  alone  remained  in  Souli,  the  last 
Greek  in  that  heroic  citadel  of  Hellenic  traditions. 

When  the  Albanians  entered  the  town,  Samuel  allowed 
many  of  them  to  come  into  the  tower  and,  setting  fire  to 
the  powder  stored  there,  blew  the  tower  up,  killing  him- 
self and  hundreds  of  the  enemy. 

After  the  departure  of  Tjavella  Ali  sent  three  thou- 
sand Albanians  to  attack  Palaskas  and  Photomaras  at 
Zalongon. 

When  the  Albanian  chiefs  Mouchtari  and  Benco  came 
with  their  three  thousand  Albanians,  instead  of  bringing 


30  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EriRUS 

food  and  money,  as  the  treaty  provided,  they  ordered  the 
Epirotes  to  follow  them  into  captivit\'  to  Jannina;  Pa- 
laskas  in  a  brief  council  with  the  three  hundred  Epirotes 
decided  to  give  battle  and  to  perish  rather  than  be  carried 
as  slaves  to  Jannina. 

The  battle  raged  until  the  next  morning.  The  handful 
of  Epirotes,  surrounded  on  every  side,  were  falling  rap- 
idly. Then,  their  wives  taking  their  children  made  a 
circle.  The  elder  of  them  singing  a  chant  threw  herself 
down  the  rock  of  Zalongan.  The  other  women  with  the 
children  in  their  arms  holding  one  another  by  the  hand  as 
they  danced  jumped  down  the  precipice,  dying  free. 

Only  Palaskas  and  a  score  more  of  his  men  survived 
that  terrible  day. 

Another  army  was  sent  by  Ali  to  Voulgareli  and 
Reniassa  to  exterminate  the  Souliotes  under  Botzaris. 

The  cruel  hordes  of  Ali  entered  Reniassa.  The  men 
of  the  town  were  in  a  council  meeting  with  Botzaris  at 
Voulgareli.  All  the  women  and  children  of  the  town 
were  defenceless. 

The  wife  of  George  Bozzi,  a  Captain,  heard  the  Alban- 
ians smashing  the  doors  of  her  home.  She  called  her  fam- 
ily of  eleven,  boys  and  girls,  and  asked  them:  "Which 
do  you  prefer,  my  children,  the  shameful  life  of  slavery, 
or  the  glorious  death  of  heroes  and  martyrs?" 

"Death,  death!"  replied  the  boys  and  girls. 

Then  the  brave  mother  drew  to  the  middle  of  the  room 
a  box  full  of  gun-powder,  called  her  children  close  to- 
gether in  a  circle  around  the  box,  and  taking  a  lighted 
torch,  set  fire  to  the  gun-powder.  The  heroic  family  of 
George  Bozzi  met  death  that  it  might  not  be  carried  away 
to  slavery. 

Finally,  Ali  gave  battle  for  the  last  time  against  the 
remnants  of  the  Epirotes  of  Souli  near  the  JVIonastery 
of  Selizo.  After  a  desperate  struggle  of  three  months 
the  Albanians,  »S,000  strong,  succeeded  in  defeating  the 
few  hundred  Souliotes,  whose  women  rushed  and  threw 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  31 

themselves  into  the  river  at  Selizo  in  order  to  escape  dis- 
honor. The  tragic  and  heroic  history  of  Epirus  m  the 
19th  century  rivals  the  heroic  struggles  of  Greece  against 
the  Persians. 

But  our  purjDose  is  not  to  write  a  history  of  Ej^irus. 
We  have  dwelt  so  long  upon  this  period  because  it  is  the 
period  during  which  Epirus  began  to  be  subjected  to  a 
cruel  oppression,  to  a  savage  persecution  and  to  a  forced 
Albanification. 

The  history  of  Parga,  its  criminal  sale  by  an  unen- 
lightened British  Government  to  the  Albanian  Tyrant, 
and  the  departure  of  the  entire  population  of  Parga  to 
escape  the  madness  of  Ali,  are  familiar  to  the  students  of 
the  history  of  the  Greek  Revolution  of  1821. 

From  the  numerous  quotations  from  Leake,  Pouque- 
ville,  Eaton  and  Perrhebus  we  can  readily  understand  that 
Epirus  has  since  1800  undergone  a  most  unprecedented 
process  of  violent  Albanification. 

The  marvel  is  that  the  Province  of  Epirus  has  retained 
so  strongly  its  Hellenic  sentiment  in  spite  of  an  oppres- 
sion which  would  have  extinguished  the  national  char- 
acter of  any  other  race  less  tenaciously  attached  to  its 
ancestral  traditions. 

It  is  only  ignorance  of  history  that  makes  certain  well- 
meaning  people  write  that  the  people  of  Epirus  have 
been  Hellenized.  The  historical  truth  is  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  Hellenic  population  of  Epirus  has  suc- 
cumbed to  cruel  oppression,  and  has  turned  Moham- 
medan, and  lost  its  mother-tongue. 

Pouqueville  enumerates  at  least  eighty  villages  which 
he  had  seen  in  ruins,  after  the  Greek  inhabitants  had  been 
murdered  or  driven  to  other  lands  by  the  ferocity  of  the 
JNIohammedans. 

One  of  the  things  which  make  many  learned  people  think 
that  Northern  Epirus  is  Albanian,  is  the  geographical  term 
generally  given  to  this  Province  by  geographers  and  his- 
torians of  recent  decades. 


32  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

;Mr.  Caillard,  as  we  have  seen,  refers  to  the  time  when 
Kpirus  was  completely  subjected  to  Turkey. 

"Epirus  was  demanded  by  Turkey  as  being  so  near  to 
Albania"  (not  being  part  of  Albania,  mind  you,  but  only 
near  Albania) . 

In  1800  then,  Epirus  was  included  in  the  Turkish  Prov- 
ince of  Albania  and  the  geographers  and  historians,  follow- 
ing this  arbitrary  name,  given  to  Epirus  by  Turkey,  called 
it  Southern  Albania. 

Now  it  is  no  more  logical  to  conclude  that  because 
Xorthern  Epirus  is  called  technically  Southern  Albania, 
it  is  Albanian  in  character,  than  to  conclude  that  because 
INIacedonia  was  a  Turkish  Province  its  inhabitants  are 
Turks,  or  that  because  Poland  was  a  Province  of  Ger- 
many, its  inhabitants  are  Germans. 

Mr.  Caillard  in  the  April  issue  of  the  Fortnightly  Re- 
view of  1885  writes: 

"The  country  may  be  divided  into  three  parts,  viz.: 
Guegania  or  N.  Albania,  Toskania  or  Central  Albania, 
and  Epirus  or  South  Albania.  The  latter  can  be  said  to 
be  Albanian  only  in  an  arbitrary  sense.  On  the  coast 
line  are  the  Tschams  who  are  fast  becoming  Hellenized  by 
their  close  intercourse  with  the  Epirotes,  whose  fortunes 
they  would  probably  prefer  to  follow.  Their  sympathies 
are  so  little  with  the  Albanians,  that  when  the  latter  came 
trampling  down  from  the  north  to  demonstrate  against  the 
Greeks,  they  threatened,  as  harvest  time  was  near,  to 
oppose  them  by  force  of  arms,  should  they  encroach  upon 
their  territories.  As  for  the  Epirotes,  they  may  be  con- 
sidered as  purely  Greeks.  Their  language  is  Greek, 
their  names  are  Greek,  they  are  thoroughly  Greek  in 
thought  and  feeling,  habits  and  religion." 

B.  1821-1912. 

In  1821  the  Greek  Revolution  broke  out,  in  which  the 
Epirotes  played  the  most  important  and  the  most  heroic 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  33 

role.  It  was  the  indomitable  courage  of  the  Epirotes  that 
attracted  Lord  Byron.  It  was  the  personality  of  INIarco 
Botzaris,  the  romantic  warrior  of  Epirus,  that  made  Lord 
Byron  write: 

*'And  yet  how  lovely  is  thine  eye  of  woe, 
Land  of  lost  gods  and  god-like  men  art  thou, 
Again  the  Hellenes  are  free !" 

And 

"Fill  high  the  bowl  with  Samian  wine ! 
On  Souli's  rock  and  Parga's  shore. 
Exists  the  remnant  of  a  line 
Such  as  the  Doric  mothers  bore." 

Carai'scakis,  who  cleared  Central  Greece  from  all  the 
Turks  and  captured  Athens,  was  an  Epirote  from  North- 
ern Epirus. 

JNIessolonghi  has  become  another  Platea  by  the  heroic 
death  of  Botzaris.  The  names  of  the  Epirotes,  the  most 
brilliant  of  all  the  heroes  of  the  Greek  Revolution,  might 
fill  up  a  volume. 

When  Greece  was  proclaimed  free  and  independent, 
Epirus  was  left  out  together  with  Crete,  Macedonia,  the 
Islands,  Thrace  and  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor. 

England  was  afraid  that  a  greater  Greece  would  be  a 
tool  in  Russian  hands,  and  managed  to  make  of  Greece  the 
smallest  and  poorest  State  in  Europe. 

But  the  eyes  of  the  Epirotes  were  ever  turned  towards 
Greece. 

The  Greek  world  knew  that  Epirus  was  responsible  for 
the  liberation  of  a  part  of  the  Greek  race.  The  Turks 
took  very  drastic  measures  to  crush  the  rebellious  and  in- 
dependent spirit  of  the  Epirotes  who  had  brought  success 
to  the  sanguinary  struggle  of  the  Greek  Revolution. 

The  Albanians  had  shown  themselves  the  most  cruel 
enemies  of  the  revolted  Greeks  during  the  stupendous 
struggle  for  their  independence. 

The  Sultans  therefore  initiated  a  policy  of  Albanian 


34.  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

aggTandizement  at  the  exjiense  of  the  Greek  Epirotes. 

From  1830  to  1912  the  Greek  Epirotes  underwent  a 
period  of  relentless  oppression  on  the  part  of  the  Alhan- 
ians.  Only  the  ohstinacy  of  the  Epirotes  and  their  undy- 
ing attachment  to  tlieir  native  land  have  frustrated  the 
indefatigable  efforts  of  the  Albanians  to  crush  the  Greek 
sentiment  in  Epirus. 

In  1897  the  Greek  soldiers  made  their  first  dash  for 
Epirus.  I  remember  the  supreme  joy  of  the  E2)irotes  at 
the  news  that  the  Greek  forces  were  coming  to  free  us 
and  to  unite  us  with  our  mother  country,  Hellas. 

I  remember  the  desperation  which  seized  us  when  we 
learned  that  those  Greek  soldiers,  our  brothers,  had  been 
driven  back  by  the  Albanians  under  Edem  Pasha  at 
Larissa. 

The  sultans  knew  that  the  Conference  of  Berlin  had 
decreed  that  Epirus  was  to  be  joined  to  Greece  and  they 
did  everything  to  exterminate  the  Greek  feeling  in  Epirus. 
But  the  most  terrible  blow  that  was  given  to  Epirus  was 
under  the  regime  of  the  Young  Turks  who  appointed  an 
Albanian  governor  at  Jannina.  The  Epirotes  had  not 
had  an  Albanian  governor  since  the  days  of  Ali.  They 
trembled,  recalling  the  terrible  acts  of  that  Satrap.  And 
they  had  every  reason  to  tremble.  The  Albanian  Gov- 
ernor upon  his  arrival  initiated  a  policy  of  violent  Albani- 
fication.  The  leading  Greek  families  of  Epirus  were  pro- 
scribed. Our  clergy  were  persecuted.  Our  schools  which 
had  been  respected  by  the  Sultans  from  the  time  of  Ali 
Pasha  were  attacked  by  the  Albanian  Governor.  He 
^vas  instructed  by  the  Young  Turks  to  strike  a  deadly  blow 
at  the  Greek  element  in  Epirus. 

Thanks,  however,  to  the  extreme  severity  of  the  Young 
Turks,  and  their  blind  zeal  for  Turkifying  all  the  races  in 
their  empire,  they  succeeded  in  rousing  the  anger  of  the 
Albanians,  who  rose  in  revolt  in  1908. 

It  was  in  1908  that  the  Greek  Premier  Theotokis  w^rote 
to  Ismael  Kemal  Bey  asking  what  were  the  aims  of  the 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  35 

Albanians  as  to  Epirus  should  Greece  assist  the  Albanians 
to  win  their  independence. 

Ismael  replied  that  the  just  boundaries  between  Albania 
and  Greece  should  be  a  line  drawn  from  Valona  to  Mona- 
stir. 

Greece  was  ready  to  assist  the  Albanians.  But  Ismael 
Kemal's  idea  of  independence  did  not  appeal  to  the 
Albanians.  They  did  not  care  for  independence.  They 
were  satisfied  under  the  Turkish  rule.  They  objected 
only  to  taxation  and  compulsory  military  service. 

As  soon  as  the  Young  Turks  were  forced  to  yield 
these  points  to  the  Albanians,  the  latter  laid  down  their 
arms,  and  became  again  the  devoted  servants  of  the  Em- 
pire. 

The  danger  to  the  Greeks  now  became  more  imminent. 
The  Young  Turks,  having  failed  in  their  attempt  to  Turk- 
ify  the  Albanians  found  it  next  best  to  Albanicize  the 
Greeks,  the  Serbs  and  the  Vlachs. 

It  was  the  danger  which  confronted  EjDirus,  that  com- 
pelled Mr.  Venizelos  to  hasten  the  consolidation  of  the 
Balkan  Alliance  before  the  Greek  Army  had  been  com- 
pletely organized. 

The  Epirotes  were  sorely  pressed.  Young  Turks, 
Albanians,  Austrian  propaganda,  Italian  propaganda 
were  desperately  resisted  by  the  Epirotes,  but  the  odds 
were  too  many  against  them.  The  war  of  1912  came 
just  in  time  to  save  Epirus  from  a  violent  denationaliza- 
tion. 


C.  1912-1914 

The  Balkan  Wars  of  1912  are  fresh  in  our  memories. 
We  remember  how  the  Greek  Army  advanced  in  Epirus 
and  was  received  with  untold  enthusiasm  by  the  Epirotes. 

We  well  remember  the  atrocities  of  tlie  Albanians  who 
fled  before  the  Greeks.  More  than  40,00  Epirotes  had 
escaped  to  the  Island  of  Corfu.     More  than  fifty  villages 


S6>         THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

in  Xorthern  Epiriis  were  sacked  and  burned  by  the  re- 
treating Albanian  soldiers  under  the  Young  Turks. 

The  Albanians  knew  that  they  would  never  again  have  a 
chance  to  rob  the  Christian  Greeks  and  destroyed  every- 
thing as  they  went. 

Thus  after  500  years  of  servitude  and  of  continuous 
struggle  for  freedom  the  Epirotes  were  free. 

Unfortunately,  Austria  and  Italy,  who  had  looked  u2)on 
Epirus  and  Albania  for  years  as  their  legitimate  prey,, 
realizing  that  so  long  as  the  Balkan  Alliance  existed 
neither  of  them  could  hope  to  seize  Albania  and  Epirus,, 
under  the  2)retext  of  championing  Albania,  demanded  that 
Greece  should  withdraw  from  lands  which  had  dreamed  of 
the  Greek  flag  ever  since  the  13th  century,  A.  D. 

The  events  which  followed  after  the  withdrawal  of  the 
Greek  troops  from  Northern  Epirus  have  been  narrated  in 
the  first  part  of  this  brochure. 

We  have  passed  cursorily  over  the  entire  history  of  Epi-^ 
rus.  We  have  allowed  authors  of  recognized  repute  to  tell 
the  history  of  this  heroic  province.  We  shall  now  examine 
its  ethnological  character. 


CHAPTER  IV 
ETHNOLOGY 

1.  Definition  of  Nationality 

Before  we  begin  to  give  any  data  or  statistics  we  should 
consider  briefly  what  we  mean  by  ethnology  or  national- 
ity. 

In  the  last  decades  two  opposite  theories  of  nationality 
have  been  advanced.  The  one  is  Prussian,  the  other 
Franco-British. 

Germany  believes  that  Poland  is  German  because  it 
is  absolutely  indispensable  to  the  well-being  of  Germany; 
Schleswig-Holstein  is  needed  by  Germany  on  account  of 
the  Kiel  Canal,  therefore  it  is  German.  Alsace-Lorraine 
is  German  because  the  language  of  these  Provinces  is 
German. 

To  the  contention  that  Poland,  Schleswig-Holstein,  and 
Alsace-Lorraine  are  opposed  to  union  with  Germany,  the 
Prussians  answer,  that  these  Provinces  are  German  and  if 
their  inhabitants  do  not  submit  to  Germanization,  it  is  the 
business  of  the  German  Government  to  use  any  means 
which  will  achieve  such  Germanization. 

The  Franco-British  theory  of  nationality  may  be  gath- 
ered from  the  following: 

Lord  Cromer  in  reviewing  a  splendid  book  by  INIr. 
Toynbee  on  Neto  Europe  in  the  Spectator  of  JNlarch 
1916,  wrote  as  follows: 

"Every  Democratic  European  will  certainly  agree  that 
the  basis  of  the  reconstruction  of  the  map  of  Europe  must 
be  sought  in  the  more  ample  recognition  of  the  principle  of 
nationality. 

"Only  a  few  peoples  have  grown  up  to  nationality  in 

37 


S8  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

the  whole  course  of  history.  The  great  majority  of  Hving 
populations  are  undoubtedly  unripe  for  it. 

"AVhat  is  a  nation?  The  French  scholar  Casaubon  was 
once  taken  to  the  great  hall  of  the  Sorbonne,  and  was  told 
by  the  guide  that  on  that  spot  discussions  had  been  going 
oafor  centuries.     lie  asked  'Qu'  a-t-on  decide?' 

"The  same  question  may  be  asked  today  in  regard  to  a 
nation.  Centuries  of  discussions  have  taken  place,  and 
the  question  is  'Qu'  a-t-on  decide?'  " 

But  if  abstract  philosophy  has  failed,  the  experience  of 
statesmen  whose  life-time  has  been  spent  in  governing 
nascent  nationalities  may  assist  us  to  standardize  our  ideas 
of  what  "a  nation"  is. 

Lord  Cromer  wrote :  "Community  of  race,  religion  and 
language  does  not  in  itself  suffice  to  create  a  common  and 
binding  national  sentiment. 

"The  South  American  States  are  almost  purely  Span- 
ish in  blood  and  in  language  and  Catholic  in  religion. 
They  were  united  in  the  achievement  of  one  common  ob- 
ject— their  severance  from  the  Old  World.  Nationality 
must  involve  a  will  to  co-operate.  Where  that  will  is  con- 
spicuous by  its  absence  no  nationality  can,  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  word,  be  said  to  exist. 

"When  a  cause  invokes  historical  sentiment  on  its  be- 
half, that  cause  is  bankrupt  of  arguments  reasonably  ap- 
plicable to  the  actual  situation." 

jNIr.  Toynbee  in  his  Future  of  Europe  writes : 

"We  do  not  think  of  nationality  statistically,  in  terms  of 
square  miles,  or  human  units,  any  of  which  can  be  balanced 
and  jf  necessary  bartered  against  any  other.  For  us, 
nationality  is  the  spiritual  experience  and  self  expression 
of  a  human  society.  Our  nation's  existence  is  internal 
cohesion. 

"A  national  democracy  is  a  living  organism  and  it  can 
no  more  multij^ly  or  decrease  the  parts  of  which  it  is 
composed  than  a  man  can  add  a  cubit  to  his  stature,  or 
survive  decapitation.     The   less   concrete  manifestations 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  39 

of  social,  life  in  which  nationality  finds  still  greater  sus- 
tenance are  literature,  art,  religion.  If  an  Alsatian  pre- 
fers to  read  French  poetry,  rather  than  German,  then  he 
is  French.  If  he  likes  to  read  Schiller  rather  than  Guizot, 
or  Heine  rather  than  Lamartine,  then  he  is  a  German." 

Then  Mr.  Toynbee  analyses  the  German  theory  of  na- 
tionality. 

He  observes  that  the  Germans  hold  that  nationality  is 

a  "Legal  Title." 

"The  Treaty  of  San  Stephano  gave  Bulgaria  almost  the 
entire  Balkan  Peninsula.  Therefore,  Bulgaria  is  legally 
entitled  by  agreement  to  the  Balkan  Peninsula. 

"A  nationality  is  not  determined  by  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple, but  by  the  mutual  relations  of  the  dynasties. 

"The  ordeal  of  battle  is  a  fair  test  of  despotism's  title 
to  claim  a  people. 

"The  dynast's  ambitions  constitute  the  principle  of  na- 
tional action. 

"Nationality  is  economic  expansion,  therefore  the  peo- 
ple of  Alsace-Lorraine  are  Germans,  the  Greeks  in  Thrace 
and  the  Greeks  and  Serbs  in  :Macedonia  are  Bulgars. 
The  small  nations  surrounding  Germany  are  necessary 
complements  to  the  protection  and  economic  development 
of  the  Fatherland.     Therefore,  they  are  German. 

"Nationality  is  language.  Flemings  and  Alsatians 
must  be  swept  into  the  net  because  they  speak  German, 
despite  their  devotion  to  their  respective  nationalities. 

"Nationality  is  historical  sentiment.  The  Turks  can- 
not leave  Adrianople  because  the  tombs  of  the  Sultans  are 
there.  The  Bulgars  must  have  Ochrida  because  the  first 
Exarchate  was  established  there  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

"The  Germans  claim  Belgium  and  Burgundy  because 
the  mediaeval  empire  claimed  them  as  its  own." 

This  historical  sentiment  is  as  ridiculous  to  the  Franco- 
British  as  would  be  the  claim  that  Normandy  is  British 
because  the  Plantagenets  claimed  it. 

"What  a  people  wins  in  battle  belongs  to  it."     Herr 


40  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Dernburg  said  to  America  that  Belgium  belonged  to  Ger- 
many because  the  Germans  had  shed  much  blood  to  con- 
quer it.  AVhy  on  the  same  score  the  Belgians  are  not  en- 
titled to  Belgium  for  having  shed  more  blood  in  defend- 
ing it,  is  not  at  all  clear. 

Here  we  see  historical  sentiment  at  its  highest.  It  can 
hypnotize  a  whole  nation  into  calling  evil,  good,  a  deter- 
mination to  hold  by  brute  force  and  by  nothing  else. 

The  mentality  of  the  Germans  and  of  the  Bulgarians  is 
very  happily  explained  by  Mr.  Toynbee  in  the  following 
passage. 

"The  elder  nations  of  Europe  have  kept  their  faces  in- 
flexibly fixed  towards  the  future;  Germany  and  Bulgaria 
have  committed  the  sin  of  Lot's  wife  and  have  been  mas- 
tered by  the  hypnotism  of  the  past." 

In  conclusion  the  English  idea  of  a  nation  is: 

"A  concrete  aggregate  of  people  habitually  in  touch 
with  one  another,  capable  any  day  of  reading  the  same 
poetry,  or  the  same  newspapers,  of  celebrating  the  same 
festival,  of  having  the  same  referendum  put  to  them,  or  of 
electing  the  same  political  representative. 

"  Language  and  culture,  tradition  and  environment, 
the  present  will  to  cooperate  in  a  political  organization,  all 
these  together  constitute  a  given  nationality." 

Mr.  Clemenceau  in  his  L' Homme  Libre,  some  years 
ago  was  the  first  to  enunciate  the  principle  so  lucidly  de- 
veloped by  JNIr.  Toynbee. 

"What  if  I  speak  German?"  wrote  Mr.  Clemenceau. 
"If  I  feel  French,  then  I  am  a  Frenchman." 

During  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  in  January,  1915,  Professor  Lyde,  who 
holds  a  chair  on  Economic  Geography,  lectured  on  "Types 
of  Political  Frontiers."  Professor  Lyde,  paying  attention 
only  to  ecouDmic  matters,  included  many  groups  of  na- 
tionalities in  foreign  states. 

Professor  Spencer  Wilkinson  opened  the  discussion  as 
to  what  "nationality"  is,  and  said, 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  41 

"There  can  be  no  one  single  criterion.  We  cannot  lay 
down  that  merely  community  of  speech  makes  a  nation. 
There  must  be  something  more.  I  think,  broadly  speak- 
ing we  all  understand  what  nationality  is,  and  I  think 
that  we  should  wish  that  if  there  are  to  be  new  borders 
in  Europe,  they  should  be  so  drawn  as  to  bring  into  one 
fold,  under  one  government,  those  people  whose  whole 
desire  and  wish  is  to  form  a  single  nation  together. 

"When  traveling  through  Macedonia  a  few  years  ago, 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  travelling  with  a  Greek  lady  with 
whom  I  discussed  for  a  long  time  the  question  of  the 
proper  place  of  Macedonia.  She  asserted  that  a  very 
large  part  of  Macedonia,  a  much  larger  part  than  I  could 
believe,  was  Greek,  and  that  their  country  ought  to  belong 
to  Greece.  She  referred  to  the  peasants  on  her  father's 
estates  as  being  Greeks  who  talked  Bulgarian,  and  I  said, 
'Surely,  people  who  talk  Bulgarian  are  Bulgars.' 

"  'Not  a  bit,"  she  replied.  'The  test  of  nationality  is 
not  their  speech,  but  their  will,  "la  volonte  de  chacun."  ' 

"I  am  bound  to  say  I  could  not  answer  her. 

"Has  it  not  been  a  cause  of  very  great  trouble  to  Europe 
that  for  forty  years  a  piece  of  territory,  which  no  doubt 
was  to  a  large  extent  German-speaking,  Alsace-Lorraine, 
has  been  included  in  the  boundaries  of  Germany,  and  the 
Germans  could  not  assimilate  its  population?"  {Boy at 
Geographic  Magazine,  February,  1915.) 

Taking  then,  the  Franco-British,  and  not  the  Germanic 
definition  of  nationality  let  us  examine  how  far  it  can  be 
proved  that  the  Epirotes  and  the  Albanians  have  the 
requisites  for  forming  one  nation. 

2.  The  Albanians  as  a  Nation 

In  the  first  place  we  shall  examine  the  "will  to  co- 
operate" of  the  Albanians  and  the  Epirotes.  Have  the 
Albanians  a  will  to  co-operate  among  themselves? 

In  Blackwood's  Magazine  of  April,  1903,  Mr.  Reginald 


4«  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Wyon,  who  visited  Albania  and  studied  the  people,  wrote 
as  follows: — 

"As  to  the  people  themselves,  spoken  of  collectively  as 
Albanians  or  sometimes  as  Arnauts,  the  idea  gained 
thereby  is  erroneous.  They  must  first  be  divided  into 
three  parts  according  to  the  three  religions,  namely,  ^lo- 
hammedans,  Greek  Orthodox  Christians,  and  Roman 
Catholic  Christians.  These  three  religious  factions  consti- 
tute three  entirely  different  peoples  each  animated  by 
fanatical  hatred  of  the  others,  and  they  are  subdivided  into 
clans  and  factions  ad  lib.  As  each  clan  can  be  reckoned 
as  a  miniature  autocratic  kingdom,  ready  at  any  moment 
to  go  to  war  with  its  next  door  neighbor,  the  anarchy 
existing  all  over  Albania  can  be  faintly  imagined." 

And  again  he  writes:  "The  numerous  clans  live  ab- 
solutely independent  of  each  other,  some  in  blood-feud, 
where  they  shoot  each  other  at  sight  whenever  they  meet; 
several  of  these  disputes  occur  annually  amongst  them- 
selves. Sometimes,  the  slaughter  is  great,  at  others  they 
are  content  with  half  a  dozen  killed  on  each  side." 

Dr.  E.  J.  Dillon  wrote  in  the  Contemporary  Review 
of  April,  1903: 

"Each  tribe  hates  the  other  wdth  religious  rancour." 

"A  war-like  nation  like  the  Albanians  would  have  long 
since  won  absolute  independence  and  founded  a  powerful 
Balkan  state,  had  it  not  been  for  the  utter  absence  of  any 
national  striving  for  ideals. 

"During  all  the  centuries  of  their  chequered  existence 
they  have  never  advanced  beyond  the  tribal  stage,  not  even 
when  the  Albanian  League  was  founded  at  Turkey's  in- 
stigation (1878)  in  order  to  work  for  the  restitution  of 
Goosinye  and  Plava  to  Albania." 

In  the  Spectator  of  November  3,  1913,  in  an  editorial, 
"The  Future  of  Albania,"  we  read, 

"The  ^lohammendans  and  the  Christians  carry  on  civil 
war.  The  Tosks  and  the  Guegs  (Ghegs)  never  agree. 
The  internal  weakness  of  the  country  is  increasing." 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  43 

And  in  the  same  publication  of  February  21,  1914,  we 
read : 

"Our  sincere  wishes  for  the  success  of  Prince  WilHam 
of  Wied,  who  is  about  to  enter  the  new  Kingdom  of 
Albania.  A  more  picturesque,  a  more  sporting,  a  more 
hazardous,  or  a  more  speculative  enterprise  for  a  ruler 
to  undertake  can  hardly  be  imagined.  The  Albanians 
have  never  lent  themselves  to  discipline  and  a  demand  for 
taxes  will  seem  to  many  of  them  a  kind  of  official 
brigandage — so  long  have  they  been  able  to  avoid  paying 
them. 

"Prince  Wilham  of  Wied  will  find  the  people  spht  into 
more  groups  than  ever;  the  main  divisions  of  Guegs  and 
Tosks,  of  Moslems,  Roman  Catholics  and  members  of  the 
Orthodox  Church,  are  complicated  by  the  allegiance  to 
various  chieftains  who  see  new  opportunities  for  personal 
ambition,  and  by  an  appreciable  sentimental  attachment 
to  Turkey  that  lingers  on  in  certain  districts." 

And  in  the  Spectator  of  May  23,  1914,  "Essad  Pasha's 
idea  of  reconciliation,  of  having  Prince  William  as  a  Mpret 
(Bret),  was  not  real.  He  had  enjoyed,  as  Minister  of 
War,  more  power  than  was  good  for  him,  and  at  last,  the 
Mpret,  who  had  been  kept  informed  of  his  ambitious 
doings,  challenged  his  intentions  by  requiring  him  to  re- 
duce his  body-guard.  Essad  Pasha  declined  and  barri- 
caded himself  in  his  house.  He  refused  to  surrender  to 
the  gendarmerie  and  fired  on  them  when  they  surrounded 
the  house." 

In  the  Spectator  of  May  23,  1914,  we  read: 

"Essad  is  gone,  but  the  spirit  of  Essad  will  live  on. 
The  trouble  is  the  same  as  it  was  under  Abdul  Hamid; 
the  Albanians  object  to  paying  taxes  and  to  giving  com- 
pulsory personal  service  to  a  settled  government.  Various 
factions  have  also  their  various  grievances;  questions  of 
language,  religion  and  so  on.  But  the  instinct  of  the  best 
fighting  men  among  them  is  to  place  personal  loyalty,  how- 
ever arduous,  to  a  feudal  Chieftain  before  tame  and  con- 


44  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

ventional  subirission  to  a  central  power.  Any  one  who 
lias  a  large  enough  number  of  troops  at  his  disposal  is 
'King  of  the  Road'  in  Albania." 

The  Ex-Envoy  of  the  United  States  to  Athens,  ]Mr. 
George  Fred  Williams,  so  notorious  for  his  Albanophilism, 
wrote  in  Harper's  Weekly  of  April  24,  1915: 

"Within  a  few  weeks  of  his  advent,  Prince  Wied  had 
iSIohammedans  killing  Greeks  in  Christian  Epirus,  and 
Catholics  slaughtering  INIohammedans  within  view  of  his 
palace. 

"Wied  was  installed  on  February  21st  and  on  May  24th 
he  fled  from  his  palace  with  his  family  and  took  refuge  in 
the  Italian  cruiser  jNIisurata. 

"On  the  15th  of  June  the  Commander,  Colonel  Thomp- 
son, was  killed  and  hundreds  of  men  were  slaughtered  in 
the  marshes. 

"I  was  surprised  at  the  hurly-burly  which  I  found  at 
Durazzo.  Everyone  was  at  sword's  point  with  everybody 
else. 

"Three  months  after  this  the  Prince,  his  family,  his 
Court,  his  Cabinet,  the  Commissioners,  Foreign  iSIinisters, 
gendarmes,  soldiers  and  warships  had  fled  from  Durazzo 
and  Albania  was  left  as  she  is  now  without  a  govern- 
ment." 

In  The  Near  East  of  April  5,  1918,  we  read  the  follow- 
ing: 

"Miss  Garnett's  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of  Al- 
bania is  valuable.  Here  is  a  classic  instance  of  a  house 
divided  against  itself.  Apart  from  the  fact  that  the  ^los- 
lems  constitute  more  than  one  half  of  the  population,  the 
prevailing  tendency  of  the  Highlanders  is  to  become  jMos- 
lems  and  of  the  Greek  Christians  to  emigrate  to  Greece. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  country  will  become  Mussulman." 

Innumerable  testimonies  of  travellers,  historians  and 
statesmen  might  be  adduced  to  prove  that  the  Albanians 
have  no  national  consciousness,  and  are  altogether  want- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  45 

ing  in  *'the  will  to  co-operate"  which  is  the  essential  of  a 
nationality. 

This  truth  is  very  unintelligible  to  Western  peoples. 
iMr.  H.  W.  Brailsford,  a  veteran  writer  on  Eastern  Ques- 
tions, gives  us  the  key  to  Balkan  nationalism  in  a  valu- 
able study  in  the  Contemporary  Review  of  April,  1918: 

"The  Arabs  may  have  been  bad  subjects  of  the  Turks, 
in  the  sense  that  they  disliked  taxation,  conscription  and 
any  rule  whatever  other  than  that  of  their  tribal  chiefs ;  but 
they  resisted  our  occupation  and  have  no  aspirations  for  a 
more  elaborate  civilisation.  The  Arabs  of  the  Hedjaz 
undoubtedly  wish  to  be  left  alone,  as  nomads  always  do. 
It  would  be  a  grave  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that  these 
primitive  Arabs  are  nationalists  as  the  Greeks  and  the 
Armenians  are. 

"We  shall  go  astray  if  we  talk  of  liberating  non-Turkish 
jMoslems  from  Turkish  rule.  The  people  who  most  need 
protection  are  the  Christians." 

Dr.  E.  J.  Dillon  makes  a  similar  remark  in  the  Contem- 
porary Review  of  April,  1903: 

"In  Turkey,  Islam  is  the  faith  of  conquerors;  Christian- 
ity the  creed  of  slaves.  Islam  has  not  modified  its  char- 
acter any  more  than  the  leopard  has  changed  his  spots. 

"Between  IMoslems  and  Christians  there  can  be  no  equal- 
ity.    How  can  there  be  justice  and  equity? 

"We  are  told  that  Hilmi  Pasha  is  an  honorable  man. 
So  was  Shakir  Pasha  an  honorable  man,  who  went  to 
Armenia  to  introduce  reforms.  Shakir  Pasha  remained 
the  honorable  man  that  he  had  been,  but  the  Armenians, 
whose  lot  he  had  come  to  better,  were  sent  to  the  next 
world  in  thousands,  and  the  word  reform  was  blotted  out 
of  the  vocabulary  of  the  people  of  those  parts." 

^liss  M.  E.  Durham,  the  foremost  champion  of  a  super- 
lative Albania,  at  the  expense  of  the  Greek  Epirotes  and 
the  Serbians,  is  candid  enough  to  make  the  following  re- 
markable statement  in  the  Spectator  of  July  22,  1911: 


46  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

"Europe  has  a  strange  idea  that  the  nature  of  the 
Turk  has  undergone  a  com2)lete  and  magical  transforma- 
tion." 

Now,  these  remarks  of  Dr.  Dillon,  Mr.  Brailsford,  and 
Miss  Durham,  are  of  no  inconsiderable  interest. 

Two-thirds  of  Albania  is  INIohammedan,  of  the  most 
fanatical  type.  The  ^lohammedan  Albanians  for  five 
hundred  years  have  been  considering  the  Christian  Greeks 
and  Serbs  about  them  as  slaves,  "rayas."  They  have  op- 
pressed, persecuted,  robbed,  and  maltreated  the  Christians, 
as  inferiors. 

By  what  accident  is  it  that  those  same  ignorant  Moham- 
medans have  altered  their  old  ideas  about  the  status  of 
their  Christian  neighbors? 

If  the  Christians  are  put  under  one  and  the  same  govern- 
ment with  a  vast  majority  of  these  ignorant  and  fanatic 
JNIoslems,  will  it  not  be  natural  for  them  to  deal  with  the 
Christians  in  the  standard  Moslem  method — as  "inferiors," 
as  "slaves,"  as  "rayas"? 

But  aside  from  the  difficulty  of  the  inequality,  and  the 
resulting  hatred  between  the  Moslem  and  Christian,  the 
Albanians  are  divided  hoj^elessly  Moslem  against  JMoslem, 
in  an  infinity  of  tribes  and  clans. 

We  have  seen  from  the  testimonies  of  eminent  writers 
that  the  Albanian  people  as  a  whole  does  not  aspire  to  be- 
come a  united  nation.  The  Albanians  as  a  w^hole  do  not 
demand  that  Epirus  be  included  in  Albania.  They  ob- 
ject to  a  united,  and  a  constituted  government  of  Albania. 

Xow  we  shall  next  consider  the  Epirotes,  their  desire 
for  union,  their  will  to  co-operate  with  Greece,  and  their 
hatred  and  abhorrence  of  Albania: 

3.  National  Senthnerif  of  the  Epirotes 

IVIr.  Toynbee  in  his  Greek  Policies  Since  1883  (p.  26 
and  following)  writes: 

"Greek  nationalism  is  not  an  artificial  conception  of 
theorists,  but  a  real  force  which  impels  all  fragments  of 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  47 

Greek-speaking  populations  to  make  sustained  efforts  to- 
wards political  union  within  the  national  state;  the  most 
striking  example  of  this  attractive  power  is  afforded 
by  the  problem  of  Epirus  (Himara,  Argyrocastro, 
Korytza). 

"The  Epirotes  turned  to  the  Greeks  with  whom  they 
were  linked  in  religion  and  politics  by  subjection  to  the 
government  at  Jannina,  which  employed  Greek  as  its  offi- 
cial language.  They  had  appealed  to  the  right  quarter, 
for  Greek  culture  under  the  Turkish  yoke  had  accumulated 
a  store  of  latent  energy  which  converted  itself  into  a  vigor- 
ous national  revival. 

"The  case  of  Epirus  is  a  good  example  of  what  Greek 
nationalism  has  meant  during  the  last  century.  The 
Hellenism  of  today,  although  it  is  not  the  same  as  that  of 
Ancient  Hellas,  yet  has  a  genuine  vitality  of  its  own.  It 
displays  a  power  of  assimilating  alien  elements  to  an  ac- 
tive participation  in  its  ideals,  and  its  allegiance  supplants 
all  others  in  the  hearts  of  those  exposed  to  its  charm. 

"  'We  are  Greeks  like  every  one  else,  but  we  happen  to 
speak  Albanian,  some  of  us,'  said  the  Northern  Epirotes 
to  me. 

"The  influence  of  Greek  culture  and  its  latent  powers 
found  expression  in  Epirus  in  a  universal  enthusiasm  for 
education  which  has  opened  to  individual  Greeks  commer- 
cial and  professional  careers  of  the  greatest  brilliance  and 
often  led  them  to  spend  the  fortunes  so  acquired  in  endow- 
ing the  nation  with  further  educational  facilities. 

"Public  spirit  is  a  Greek  virtue;  there  are  few  villages 
which  do  not  possess  monuments  of  their  successful  sons, 
and  a  school  is  an  even  commoner  gift  than  a  church,  while 
the  State  in  Epirus  has  done  nothing  to  help  the  Greeks. 

"The  school  house,  in  fact,  is  the  most  prominent  and 
substantial  building  in  an  Epirotic  village,  and  the  gains 
which  their  alliance  with  the  Greek  nation  has  brought  to 
the  Greek  Epirotes  are  symbolised  generously  throughout 
their  country.     For  the  Epirote  the  school  is  the  door  to 


48  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

fortune  and  to  his  future.  The  language  he  learns  there 
makes  him  a  member  of  a  nation,  and  opens  to  him  a  world 
wide  enough  to  employ  all  the  talent  and  energj'-  he  may 
possess  if  he  seeks  his  future  at  Patras  or  Peiraeus,  or  in 
the  great  Greek  communities  of  Alexandria  and  Constan- 
tinople. While  if  he  stays  at  home  it  still  affords  him  a 
link  with  the  life  of  civilized  Euro^^e  through  the  medium 
of  the  ubiquitous  Greek  ncAvspaper.  The  Epirote  then  has 
become  Greek  in  soul;  he  has  reached  the  conception  of  a 
national  life  more  liberal  than  the  isolated  existence  of  his 
native  village  through  the  avenue  of  Greek  culture,  so 
that  'Hellenism'  and  nationality  have  become  for  him  iden- 
tical ideas,  and  when  at  last  the  hour  of  deliverance  struck, 
he  welcomed  the  Greek  Armies  that  marched  into  his 
Country  from  the  South  and  from  the  East  after  the  fall 
of  Jannina  in  the  Spring  of  1913,  with  the  same  enthusiasm 
with  which  all  the  other  enslaved  fragments  of  the  Greek 
nation  greeted  the  consummation  of  a  century's  hopes." 

But  we  may  go  a  little  further  back.  Pouqueville  who 
spent  ten  years  in  Epirus  has  known  the  heart  of  the 
Epirotes.  In  connection  with  the  ethnology  of  the 
Epirotes  he  writes  in  Book  I,  Chap.  1,  p.  3,  of  his  History 
of  Greece: 

"Ali  Tepelen  was  born  about  1740.  The  unfortu- 
nate descendants  of  Hellen  counted  then  300  years  of 
slavery  and  twenty-five  centuries  of  historical  traditions, 
conserved  among  them,  to  remind  them  of  their  origin. 
They  were  like  those  Gods  banished  from  Olympus. 
They  escaped  the  wreck  because  they  had  cast  their  anchor 
of  faith  in  the  bosom  of  a  religion  to  which  the  Most  High 
has  promised  duration  for  all  time.  But  not  so  with  their 
oppressors." 

It  is  very  clear  that  the  Epirotes  are  not  the  same  as  the 
Albanians.  The  former  are  united  among  tliemselves  and 
their  will  is  expressed  for  co-operation  with  Greece. 

Dr.  Dillon  in  the  CoritemjJorary  Review  of  April,  1903,. 
writes : 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  49 

"The  Albanians  have  withstood  the  efforts  of  the 
Greeks,  Romans,  Slavs  and  Turks  to  assimilate  them." 

But  the  Epirotes  at  least  are  assimilated  by  the  Greeks. 
This  shows  that  there  is  a  difference  of  sentiment  and  na- 
tional aspirations  between  the  Epirotes  and  the  Albanians. 

When  in  1914,  Austria  and  Italy  forced  Greece  to  aban- 
don Epirus  the  inhabitants  of  Northern  Epirus  took  up 
arms  and  repelled  the  Albanians.  The  Epirotes  asked 
union  with  Greece.  But  the  insistence  of  Italy  forced 
them  to  be  satisfied  with  the  declaration  of  an  Independent 
State.     The  Spectator  of  April  11,  1914,  said: 

"The  rising  which  is  now  embarrassing  Prince  William 
and  is  causing  him  to  contemplate  taking  the  field  at  the 
head  of  an  Albanian  Army  was  only  to  be  expected. 

"It  is  a  wretched  beginning  to  the  reign  of  Prince  Wil- 
liam, and  he  has  only  himself  to  thank  and  not  the  per- 
versity or  wickedness  of  the  Epirote  fire-brands,  who  are 
only  behaving  in  the  manner  that  could  confidently  have 
been  predicted. 

"It  is  true  that  men  of  Greek  race  and  speech  in  North- 
ern Epirus  are  cut  off  from  their  natural  affinities. 

"Northern  Epirus  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  Ulster  of 
Greece.  When  the  Powers  decided  to  include  Northern 
Epirus  within  the  boundaries  of  Albania,  they  did  so 
because  they  could  not  agree  on  any  other  solution,  and 
merely  accepted  the  plan  that  divided  them  least. 

"It  cannot  be  denied  that  as  Northern  Epirus  is  in  very 
large  part  Greek,  the  people  clamor  for  union  with 
Greece." 

And  the  Literary  Digest  of  April  18,  1914,  under 
"Greek  Revolt  in  Albania"  wrote: 

"The  250,000  Greeks  who  were  included  in  the  new 
Albania  by  the  Powers  are  reported  in  revolt,  and  Prince 
William  of  Wied,  the  Lohengrin  of  the  German  Court, 
thus  finds  opportunity  to  show  his  mettle  at  the  outset  of 
his  reign.  The  Greeks  of  Epirus  expected  to  be  united 
with  their  fatherland  under  the  treaty  parcelling  out  the 


50  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Balkan  territory,  and  were  disappointed,  so  they  propose 
fighting-  to  hring  Epirus  under  the  Greek  flag.  Reports 
in  the  P^m'opean  press  say  that  they  hold  the  important 
town  of  Korytza." 

Mr.  George  Fred  Williams  wrote  in  Harper's  Weekly 
of  April  24,  191.5: 

"^Meanwhile  the  Epirotes  declared  their  independence. 

"The  native  ^Mohammedans  opposed  Wied  by  force. 
Wied  purchased  troops  from  the  Roman  Catholic  moun- 
taineers of  the  North  to  defend  Durazzo.  He  had  also 
native  iMohammedan  adherents  in  Valona,  south  of  Du- 
razzo, where  he  raised  troops  to  attack  the  Orthodox 
Christian  Epirotes  and  the  ISIohammedan  insurgents  of 
JMiddle  Albania  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  advent." 

In  the  DeUneator  of  July,  1915,  we  read: 

"Albania  (as  delimited  by  Italy  and  Austria),  includes 
the  land  of  Epirus,  one  of  the  adored  daughters  of  Greece, 
which  like  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  is  ever  looking  to  the 
JNIother  to  free  her  from  the  foreign  yoke." 

Bursian  in  his  Geographie  von  Griechenland  (I  Para- 
graph 9),  when  he  describes  the  modern  inhabitants  of 
Epirus,  writes: 

"Pogoniani  (a  district  in  Xorthern  Epirus  with  more 
than  forty-five  toMiis  and  villages)  is  thoroughly  Greek." 

]Mr.  Rene  Puaux  was  the  Temps  correspondent  in 
Epirus  in  1913-1914.  ^Ir.  Valley  and  ^Ir.  Jessen  were 
the  correspondents  of  French  and  German  papers  re- 
spectivel\\ 

The  three  correspondents  wrote  what  they  saw  passing 
under  their  eyes  in  Epirus,  when  the  Powers  were  pre- 
paring to  surrender  Northern  Epirus  to  Albania. 

INIr.  Rene  Puaux  writes  in  his  book,  La  Mallieureuse 
JEpire: 

"j\Ir.  Valley  and  INIr.  Jessen  as  well  as  I  wired  from 
Epirus  what  we  saw  with  our  own  eyes. 

"If  I  succeed  in  persuading  the  French  People  to 
sympathize  with  the  Epirotes  and  with  their  wonderful 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  51 

love  for  Hellas,  their  Mother,  and  if  I  be  able  to  offer  my 
poor  services  for  the  struggle  of  the  Epirotes,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  struggles,  I  shall  feel  the  most  sacred 
joy.  Whatever  may  happen,  the  things  I  witnessed,  the 
recollections,  and  the  holy  patriotism  of  the  Epirotes  move 
me.     And  when  I  think  of  them  I  am  moved  to  tears." 

In  his  correspondence  to  the  Temps  of  May  1,  from 
Corfu  he  wrote : 

"Ten  thousand  Epirotes,  refugees,  have  arrived  here. 
The  Albanians  have  burnt  their  homes. 

"But  after  the  fall  of  Jannina  hope  has  filled  their  hearts. 
In  the  future,  the  Greek  Province  of  Epirus  will  be  free. 
Under  the  protection  of  the  White-and-Blue  they  will  re- 
turn to  Parga,  Senitsa,  Nivitsa,  Corytsa. 

"Twenty-five  villages  opposite  Corfu  have  been  sacked 
and  burned  down  by  the  Albanian  hordes. 

"But  now,  a  new  life  seems  to  animate  the  afflicted 
Epirotes— a  new  idea,  the  great  idea  of  Hellenism.  The 
Epirotes  will  now  realize  their  dreams  of  centuries,  their 
union  with  their  Mother,  Greece. 

"To  surrender  to  an  artificial  Albania  a  people  which 
differs  from  the  Albanians  in  language,  in  civilization,  in 
religion  and  in  aspirations,  is  a  crime. 

"All  Epirus  from  Cape  St.  Basil  to  Cape  St.  John 
is  absolutely  Greek;  the  friends  and  relatives  of  these 
Epirotes  constitute  the  intellectual  and  plutocratic  aris- 
tocracy of  Athens,  and  Patras." 

May  2,  Corfu,  19U 

"It  is  not  a  question  what  Greece  wants.  It  is  a  ques- 
tion what  the  Epirotes  want.  And  should  Greece  be 
forced  to  refuse  the  Epirotes,  they,  none  the  less,  are  de- 
termined to  secure  their  union  with  Greece. 

"If  Epirus  was  a  'no-man's-land,'  that  is  a  land  with- 
out national  sentiment,  it  would  have  been  very  easy  for 
Italy  and  Austria  to  swallow  it.  But  North  Epirus, 
which  Italy  pretends  that  she  wants  to  give  to  Albania, 


52         THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

is  the  hearth  of  Neo-Hellenism.  The  Epirotes  are  more 
Greek  tlian  the  other  Greeks. 

"In  Epirus  there  are  six  great  centers  of  Hellenism, 
Jannina,  the  Zagoria  (48  villages),  ArgjTocastro,  Met- 
sovo,  Chimara,  and  Coiytsa. 

"From  each  one  of  these  nests  there  have  come  out  men 
M'hose  first  care  after  they  have  acquired  wealth  in  foreign 
lands  has  been  to  spend  tlieir  vast  fortunes  for  the  realiza- 
tion of  that  beautiful  dream  of  Hellenism, — the  libera- 
tion and  the  unification  of  all  the  enslaved  parts  of  the 
Hellenic  Fatherland,  and  especially  the  union  of  Epirus 
with  Greece. 

"Arsakis  left  his  vast  fortune  for  the  education  of 
Greek  girls.  With  his  wealth  four  Greek  Colleges  for 
women  were  endowed,  one  at  Athens,  one  at  Constan- 
tinople, one  at  Larissa,  one  at  Jannina. 

"At  the  Arsakeion  of  Athens  over  2000  Greek  girls 
receive  a  College  education  and  this  is  due  to  an  Epirote 
from  Chotachova,  near  Argyrocastro,  which  the  Alban- 
ians are  trying  to  include  in  Albania. 

"Zappas,  the  founder  of  many  Greek  schools  in  Greece 
and  in  Turkey,  the  founder  of  the  JNIusemn  of  Art  at 
Athens,  was  from  Lambovo,  near  Argyrocastro. 

"Zographos,  the  founder  of  the  Zographeon  College,  and 
the  Zographeon  Hospital  at  Constantinople,  came  from 
Kestonati,  near  Tepeleni.  His  son  George  Zographos 
has  been  jNIinister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  Greece,  and  be- 
came the  President  of  the  Autonomous  State  of  Northern 
Epirus  in  1914. 

"Of  the  two  wealthy  Greeks  George  Averoff,  and 
Stournaras  of  Metsovo,  the  former  built  the  Stadium  at 
Athens,  gave  to  Greece  the  cruiser  Averoff  which  defeated 
the  Turkish  fleet  in  1912,  and  established  schools  in  Epirus, 
in  Greece,  and  in  Egypt,  while  the  latter  founded  and  en- 
dowed the  splendid  Polytechnic  Institute  at  Athens. 

"The  Zossimas  established  the  first  Greek  College  at 
Jannina  long  before  the  Independence  of  Greece,  the 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  53 

Caplanes,  and  the  Tositsas  of  Jannina  bestowed  all  their 
fortunes  for  educational  and  patriotic  works. 

"The  millionaire  Bancas  of  Corytsa  gave  all  his  wealth 
for  Greek  schools  and  hospitals  both  in  Corytsa,  and  in 
Greece. 

"Anagnostopoulos,  of  Zagori,  a  famous  and  much  hon- 
ored citizen  of  Boston,  late  Principal  of  the  Perkins  In- 
stitute for  the  Blind,  left  all  his  fortune  for  a  Greek 
College  for  girls  in  Northern  Epirus. 

"The  list  of  Epirote  patriots  who  have  made  fabulous 
fortunes  abroad  and  have  bestowed  them  for  the  education, 
and  the  liberation  of  every  unredeemed  Greek  land,  would 
fill  volumes. 

"Their  only  thought  was  union  with  Greece,  and  for- 
tunes are  even  today  left  in  the  National  Bank  of  Greece 
with  the  express  terms  in  the  wills  'to  be  used  only  for  the 
liberation  of  Epirus,  and  her  union  with  Greece.'  " 


CHAPTER  V 
CULTURE 

1.  The  Culture  of  the  Albanians 

The  will  to  co-operate  is  a  prime  requisite  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a  nation,  but  a  "common  culture"  is  also  an  im- 
portant and  necessary  element. 

It  will  be  enlightening  to  consider  first  the  culture  of  the 
Albanians,  and  then  that  of  the  Epirotes,  and  to  observe 
the  community  or  difference  in  culture  of  the  two  peoples. 

Doctor  E.  J.  Dillon  wrote  in  the  Contemporary  Review 
of  April,  1903: 

"The  wave  of  civilization  has  not  even  sprinkled  with  its 
foam  the  life  of  the  people  of  the  interior,  whose  besetting 
passion  is  a  love  of  arms  and  booty.  'Fire,  water  and  gov- 
ernments know  no  mercy,'  is  the  common  saying  of  the  Al- 
banians. So  they  have  freed  themselves  even  from  the 
government  of  their  own  people. 

"To  the  average  Albanian  the  tribe  is  the  state. 

"In  their  love  of  blood-shed  and  horror  of  humdrum  and 
laborious  living  they  resemble  the  Kurds,  and  feel  like  them 
that  they  have  a  better  right  to  exist  and  thrive  than  the 
inferior  races  who  are  on  earth  merely  for  their  sakes. 

"Neither  the  Mohammedans  nor  the  Christians  are  chary 
of  blood-shedding. 

"It  has  been  calculated  that  about  25  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  population  die  violent  deaths. 

"At  times  large  tracts  of  land  are  given  up  to  sanguinary 
vendettas.  Not  only  do  feuds  to  the  death  rage  for  gen- 
erations between  two  tribes  but  also  between  two  families 
of  the  same  tribe,  and  hundreds  of  persons  are  sacrificed 

54 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  55 

at  sight  to  propitiate  the  blood-thirsty  shades  of  parents 
or  forbears. 

"That  fierce  lawless  tribes  should  let  themselves  be  tamed 
by  a  few  gendarmes ;  should  uncomplainingly  give  up  cus- 
toms more  sacred  to  them  than  are  the  dictates  of  religion 
to  Christians;  should  work  hard  for  their  livelihood,  instead 
of  robbing  mere  Giaours,  and  should  treat  the  latter  as 
equals  and  worthy  of  respect,  is  a  set  of  j^ropositions  which 
no  man  can  seriously  entertain  who  has  realized  their  mean- 
ing. The  thing  is  simply  inconceivable ;  it  would  indeed  be 
easier  far  to  force  Englishmen  to  let  themselves  be  gov- 
erned by  the  Baboos  of  Bengal,  than  to  get  the  Albanians 
to  give  up  the  customs  of  their  ancestors  and  their  wild 
love  of  freedom  for  the  sake  of  races  which,  loathing,  they 
cannot  even  hate." 

Mr.  Reginald  Wyon  wrote  in  Blackwood's  Magazine  of 
April,  1903: 

"No  amount  of  impassioned  preaching  can  drive  into 
these  men's  minds  that  it  is  wrong  to  take  another's  life. 

"Sunday  morning  is  an  extraordinary  spectacle  amongst 
the  Roman  Catholic  Clans.  As  the  sun  nears  its  zenith  the 
clan  has  gathered  together,  rifles  are  piled  in  long  rows 
against  the  church  walls,  and,  revolver  in  girdle,  bandolier 
round  their  waists,  they  enter  the  sacred  edifice. 

"It  once  happened,  during  my  visit,  that  while  a  congre- 
gation was  deep  in  devotions,  shots  were  heard  outside — 
rapid  firing  such  as  portended  fighting.  As  one  man  the 
worshippers  rose,  and  before  the  priest  had  concluded  the 
prayer,  they  were  streaming  at  a  swift  double  quick  to- 
wards the  fray,  shooting  as  they  swung  along,  to  signify 
that  help  was  coming.  Before  the  priest  had  divested  him- 
self of  his  robes,  and  followed  his  erring  sheep,  they  were 
in  the  thick  of  the  battle  with  a  neighboring  clan.  A  few 
hours  later,  the  dead  were  laid  out  in  the  deserted  church. 

"A  curious  watchfulness  pervades  every  man — a  quick 
scan  of  every  rock  and  bush  on  walking  abroad,  and  ever- 
loaded  weapons. 


56  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

"An  Albanian  never  parts  with  his  rifle — even  tilling 
the  patch  of  ground  before  his  home,  he  will  have  his  rifle 
slung  from  his  shoulder ;  if  he  is  hoeing  it  is  lying  ready  to 
hand  in  the  next  furrow.  At  church  his  rifle  stands 
against  the  wall.  The  shepherd  singing  love  songs  to 
while  away  the  long  hours,  has  his  rifle  across  his  knees, 
and  will  lift  it  from  time  to  time  to  aim  at  some  object  to 
keep  his  eye  in  practice. 

"With  a  sublime  indifference  to  law  they  go  armed  to 
their  teeth. 

"It  is  by  no  means  a  rare  occurrence  for  the  visitor  to  see 
a  man  shot  in  the  street. 

"A  man's  hfe  in  Albania  is  worth  one  penny,  as  an  edu- 
cated Albanian  once  told  me, — that  being  roughly  the  price 
of  a  cartridge ! 

"The  Albanian,  while  he  is  peacefully  sleeping  in  his 
hut,  may  awake, — if  he  awakes  at  all — to  find  a  board  in 
the  roof  removed  and  a  rifle  or  a  revolver  barrel  pointing 
at  him. 

"Should  a  traveller  be  observed  taking  notes,  taking 
photographs,  or  measurements,  then  his  life  would  be  en- 
dangered. 

"He  should  remember  never  to  be  seen  writing  or  sketch- 
ing, and  should  always  behave  as  a  pious  Roman  Catholic 
in  Northern  Albania,  and  as  a  pious  Mohammedan  in 
Middle  and  Southern  Albania  and  should  be  constantly  at- 
tentive never  to  betray  himself  by  the  omission  of  any 
little  ceremonial. 

"I  was  present  when  an  Albanian  shot  a  Turkish  soldier 
deliberately.  He  was  caught  and  about  to  be  tried. 
Within  twenty-four  hours  the  Turkish  governor  was  hon- 
ored by  a  visit  from  a  deputation  of  the  murderer's  clan. 
These  men  demanded  their  comrade's  release,  and  when 
they  were  promptly  refused,  on  the  ground  that  the  pris- 
oner must  stand  his  trial  for  murder  the  deputation  left 
with  the  warning  that  if  he  was  not  in  their  midst  within 
forty-eight  hours,  the  clan  would  descend  and  burn  tlie 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  57 

town.  The  Governor  had  but  a  handful  of  Turkish  sol- 
diers. Needless  to  say,  the  man  was  released  well  within 
the  time  limit. 

"Professor  Baldacci  described  them  to  me  as  'Rough 
men,  uncivilised  in  every  respect,  murderous,  ruffians,  bar- 
barous savages.' 

"After  all  they  are  great  children  who  play  with  life  as 
we  play  with  games." 

The  Spectator  of  November  8,  1913,  wrote: 

"Albanian  history  has  never  instructed  Europe  in  the 
terrors  of  trying  to  control  mountainous  and  savage  people 
like  the  Ghegs,  whose  normal  life  is  fighting,  and  who 
would  be  surprised  at  being  told  that  they  were  to  die  in 
their  beds." 

And  in  the  issue  of  February  21,  1914: 

"Even  the  palace  of  Durazzo,  which  is  waiting  to  re- 
ceive the  new  King,  is  said  to  be  the  home  of  rats  and 
snakes." 

In  the  Open  Court  of  February,  1913,  we  read: 

"The  inhabitants  of  Albania  do  not  possess  the  usual 
customs  of  civilized  countries.  Most  of  the  people  are  rob- 
bers, and  brigands,  and  murder  is  not  considered  a  crime. 
The  stranger  has  no  right  to  protection  unless  he  is  received 
at  the  hearth,  according  to  the  usage  of  primitive  savages. 
He  is  an  outlaw  if  he  is  found  on  the  road,  and  may  be  shot 
down  from  an  ambush  without  rousing  the  authorities  to 
investigate  the  case. 

"Their  supreme  rule  is  not  to  recognize  any  authority 
above  themselves.  Every  man  takes  the  law  in  his  own 
hands  and  deems  it  his  privilege  to  rob  and  pillage  wherever 
he  can  do  so  with  impunity ;  every  one  is  inseparable  from 
his  weapons,  and  no  man  ventures  on  a  journey  or  even  in 
the  public  high-road  without  his  gun. 

"They  would  not  give  up  their  arms;  would  object  to 
paying  taxes;  would  tolerate  no  censors;  would  brook  no 
police;  would  not  suffer  their  properties  to  be  entered  at 
recorders'  offices ;  were  even  opposed  to  sending  their  chil- 


58  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

dren  to  school  or  to  su})niitting  their  quarrels  to  courts. 
The  old  system  of  taking  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  of 
stealing  the  cattle  of  others,  of  slaying  the  wayfarer  is  con- 
sidered part  of  the  inalienable  right  of  the  country.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  from  25  per  cent,  to  40  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  male  population  is  exterminated  by  assassina- 
tion, and  no  authority  has  so  far  succeeded  in  stopping  this 
custom." 

JNIr.  George  Fred  Williams  writes  in  Harper's  Weekly 
of  April,  1915: 

"  'Where  the  sword  is,  there  is  the  faith,'  is  the  belief 
of  the  Albanians.  They  are  raised  in  superstition  and 
suspicion." 

Mr.  Reginald  Wyon  again  writes: 

"IMore  deaths  occur  annually  from  vendetta  than  from 
any  other  cause.  The  avenger  is  never  wounded  in  the  ful- 
filment of  revenge.  The  avenger  is  not  heroic;  he  waits 
for  his  victim,  and  only  shoots  when  he  knows  he  will  kill, 
from  behind  a  stone,  beside  the  path  the  victim  must  tra- 
verse. The  bullet  comes  at  a  few  yards  distance,  usually 
from  behind." 

Mr.  H.  J.  O'Kie  wrote  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly 
of  August,  1889: 

"The  Albanians  are  accustomed  to  train  ganders  for 
fighting,  for  which  purpose  they  feed  them  with  such  herbs 
as  contribute  to  the  development  of  a  pugnacious  disposi- 
tion. When  one  thinks  his  goose's  courage  has  been  suffi- 
ciently developed,  he  sends  a  herald  through  the  village 
uttering  a  challenge  to  any  townsman  having  a  gander 
which  he  is  ready  to  pit  in  a  combat  to  bring  him  to  the 
ring  for  a  match. 

"Such  a  challenge  was  sounded  in  the  village  of  Lower 
Rogoza  on  the  last  day  of  August  of  last  year.  It  was 
answered  by  a  wealthy  Albanian,  who  at  once  betook  him- 
self with  his  goose  to  the  place  where  such  spectacles  were 
exhibited.  His  antagonist  was  already  in  waiting,  with 
about  one  hundred  onlookers. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  59 

"The  match  had  gone  on  for  about  two  hours,  when  one 
of  the  champions  began  to  fail.  His  owner  wanted  to  help 
him,  but  the  proprietor  of  the  conquering  goose  would  not 
permit  it.  Irritated  by  this,  the  losing  owner  raised  his 
gun  and  shot  the  other  down  on  the  spot." 

As  to  education,  Mr.  Reginald  Wyon  writes : 

"The  country  is  unique  in  Europe;  for  while  even  little 
Montenegro  has  its  schools,  its  law-courts,  and  its  news- 
papers, Albania  knows  of  none  of  these  things.  Their 
language  consists  of  about  six  hundred  words." 

And  Dr.  E.  J.  Dillon: 

"  'He  who  has  often  avenged  is  wiser  than  he  who  has 
been  taught  much,'  is  the  opinion  of  the  Albanian  about 
education,  which  can  hardly  be  said  to  exist  in  Albania." 

We  think  that  more  quotations  would  add  but  little  to 
the  evidence  of  these  eminent  travellers  and  writers  whom 
we  have  quoted. 

It  is  simply  shocking  to  think  that  a  civilised,  a  cultured, 
a  peaceful,  and  a  progressive  people  like  the  Epirotes 
should  have  ever  been  even  asked,  not  to  say  forced,  to  live 
and  be  governed  by  people  who  are  wanting  in  the  most 
elementary  requisites  of  self-governing  peoples. 

Mr.  Charles  Dilke  cleverly  said  of  the  diplomats  of 
Europe : 

"AVhat  is  Europe  anyway?  A  number  of  wicked  old 
gentlemen  with  decorations  assembled  around  a  green 
table." 

Signor  San  Giuliano,  Herr  Berchtold,  and  Sir  Edward 
Grey  belonged  to  the  old  school,  which  taught  that  "might 
is  right,"  which  did  not  care  for  the  fate  of  small  peoples, 
which  bargained,  bought  and  sold  freely,  remorselessly, 
the  liberties,  the  lives,  and  the  souls  of  unfortunate  peoples 
which  were  fighting  for  the  liberty  and  the  civilization  of 
Europe. 

What  cared  San  Giuliano  if  the  brave  Epirotes,  as  cul- 
tured as  the  countrymen  of  Cavour,  with  wives  as  dear, 
and  daughters  as  well  brought  up  as  those  of  the  citizens 


60  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

of  Rome,  were  to  be  exposed  to  the  brutality  of  those  un- 
fortunate savages  of  Albania? 

But  why  should  we  wonder  at  the  callousness  of  the  old 
European  diplomats  in  the  case  of  Epirus,  when  we  know 
that  all  the  Christian  peoples  of  Turkey  have  groaned 
under  the  inhuman  tyranny  of  the  Moslems,  and  the  great 
Powers  have  time  and  again  discouraged  and  hindered  the 
Christian  slaves  from  overthrowing  their  oppressor? 

2.  Culture  of  the  Epirotes 

Let  us,  now,  examine  the  cultural  condition  of  the 
Epirotes. 

We  have  already  quoted  authorities,  who  testify  that  the 
Epirotes  are  a  highly  cultured  people,  and  that  they  not 
only  have  absorbed  Greek  Culture  but  also  have  so  de- 
veloped it  as  to  make  the  culture  of  Epirus  the  most  Hel- 
lenic of  any. 

Pouqueville  in  Book  I,  Chap.  I,  page  2,  of  his  Histoire 
de  la  Grece,  writes : 

"The  Turks  founded  and  maintained  their  empire  upon 
violence,  characterised  by  injustice  to  the  vanquished,  and 
drawing  its  force  from  unrighteousness  and  from  terror. 
They  could,  therefore,  only  follow  the  course  of  epidemics, 
which  grow  weaker  as  they  grow  older.  Thus  was  it  with 
Nineveh,  Suza,  Ecbatana,  and  Babylon.  But  it  could  not 
be  so  with  a  people  which,  although  enslaved,  preserved  its 
language  and  its  customs. 

"While  yet  under  slavery,  the  Greeks  in  Epirus  and 
throughout  the  Turkish  Empire  showed  the  traits  of  tlie 
Hellenes,  and  it  was  enough  to  encounter  the  indomitable 
mountaineers,  in  order  to  be  convinced  that  some  day  the 
destinies  of  Greece  would  change. 

"Jannina  long  ago  established  endowments  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Greek  teachers  there.  Chios  has  founded  an 
academy.  What  voices  of  resurrection  could  be  heard 
from  Epirus,  Thessaly,  Macedonia  and  those  sons  of  Tubal 
Cain  who  work  the  mines  of  Pangason  (Macedonia)  ?" 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  61 

Ami  Boue,  who  in  the  middle  of  the  19th  century  tra- 
versed Epirus  and  Macedonia,  writes  in  La  Turquie  d'Eu- 
rope,\o\.  Ill,  P.  447: 

"The  monasteries  are  most  numerous  in  Epirus  and 
Macedonia,"  and  in  Vol.  Ill,  p.  521: 

"Instruction  begins  to  receive  more  serious  attention  in 
Epirus  where  live  the  Greeks  and  the  Vlachs. 

"The  best  Greek  educational  establishments  are  at  Jan- 
nina,  Larissa,  Salonica,  and  Serres." 

Mr.  C.  S.  Butler,  the  correspondent  for  the  Manchester 
Guardian,  wrote  on  September  30,  1914: 

"In  jMay  of  last  year  I  was  at  Korytsa,  and  witnessed  a 
parade  of  2,125  Greek  school  children  of  both  sexes,  from 
five  years  up  to  sixteen,  who  beamed  with  joy  and  pride  as 
they  filed  past  the  Crown  Prince  of  Greece,  waving  their 
little  Greek  flags. 

"Korytza  has  been  the  bone  of  contention  between  Epi- 
rotes  and  Albanians.  This  city  has  25,000  inhabitants. 
It  may  readily  be  seen  that  the  city  is  completely  Greek, 
for  2,125  school  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
sixteen  would  represent  practically  every  family  in  the 
city. 

"The  written  and  commercial  language  of  the  Albano- 
phone  Epirotes  is,  and  has  always  been  Greek,  even  under 
Turkish  rule.  Even  the  most  fanatical  Albanians  keep 
their  accounts  in  Greek*. 

"At  Argyrocastro,  I  was  much  surprised  to  see  that  the 
notables  of  Libochovo,  a  fanatical  Moslem  stronghold 
across  the  valley,  sign  their  names  habitually  in  Greek. 
All  the  extant  letters,  decrees,  and  orders  of  Ali  Pasha, 
who  certainly  could  not  be  accused  of  favoring  the  Greeks, 
are  in  Greek ;  which  clearly  proves  two  things :  That  Greek 
was  the  only  written  language  used  in  Epirus  in  his  day, 
and  that  it  must  have  been  generally  understood  and 
spoken  by  the  people  of  Epirus. 

"It  is  not  the  language,  therefore,  but  the  sentiment  of 
a  people  which  determines  its  national  character.     And  N. 


m  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Epirus  has  for  many  generations  expressed  its  national 
sentiment  with  no  uncertain  sound.  To  pass  over  the 
flourishing  Greek  institutions  of  learning  of  Jannina  in  the 
17th  and  18th  centuries,  which  kept  alive  Greek  letters  and 
Greek  aspirations  in  those  dark  days  and  which  were  sup- 
yorted  entirely  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  Epirotes, 
and  to  come  down  to  the  present  age,  Athens  is  full  of 
S2)lendid  public  buildings,  gifts  of  Northern  Epirotes. 
The  magnificant  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  and  the  Astro- 
nomical Observatory  were  given  by  Sinas  of  Moschopolis 
(near  Korytsa).  Bangas,  of  Korytsa,  left  a  building 
worth  £20,000  as  a  bequest  to  the  Greek  Navy  Fund. 
The  Zappa  brothers,  who  endowed  Athens  with  her  ex- 
position grounds  and  Constantinoj^le  with  her  biggest 
Greek  High  School  for  Girls,  were  natives  of  Lambovo, 
north  of  Argyrocastro.  Zographos  (the  father  of  the 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies),  founder  of  a 
large  Greek  school  at  Constantinople,  and  founder  of  the 
Prize  Fund  for  the  encouragement  of  Greek  studies  at 
Paris,  was  a  native  of  Duriani,  near  Argja'ocastro. 
Averoff,  the  donor  of  the  Greek  battleship  bearing  his 
name  and  of  the  splendid  Panathenaic  Stadium,  and 
Tositsa,  and  Stournara,  who  endowed  Athens  with  its  fine 
Pol5i:echnic  School,  were  natives  of  Metsovo.  I  pass 
over  a  long  list  of  generous  gifts  and  endowments  by 
Epirotes  to  Greece  for  patriotic  Greek  aims." 

Colonel  Murray  in  a  lecture  given  in  INIorley  Hall  in 
London,  January  7,  1914,  before  an  audience  of  Oxford 
professors  and  other  scholars  and  statesmen,  said: 

"Education  has  opened  the  minds  of  the  men  and  women. 
The  school  master  is  abroad  in  Epirus  as  elsewhere." 

INIr.  Z.  D.  Ferriman,  author  of  Home  Life  in  Hellas  and 
Turkey  and  the  Turks,  wrote  to  the  Daily  Chronicle  on 
April  7th,  1914: 

"The  Zographion  is  one  of  the  many  benefactions  of 
Zographos  to  Hellenism.  Not  a  few  Greeks  who  have 
risen  to  distinction  owe  their  studies  in  Europe  to  his  gen- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  63 

erosity.  I  did  not  know  that  Zographos  was  an  Epirote; 
but  the  fact  explained  to  me  why  his  son,  a  former  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  of  Greece,  was  heading  now  the  revolu- 
tion against  the  Albanians. 

"The  Metropolitan  of  Argyrocastro,  Vassilios,  was  born 
at  Labano,  a  mountain  village  north  of  Argyrocastro.  He 
studied  at  the  famous  Theological  College  of  the  Isle  of 
Halki,  near  Constantinople,  was  professor  at  the  Gym- 
nasium of  Serres,  later  taught  at  Adrianople,  then  became 
successively  Metropolitan  of  Paramythia,  Avlona,  and 
Argyrocastro,  in  N.  Epirus. 

"When  Athens  was  in  darkness,  the  appanage  of  a 
eunuch  in  the  Seraglio  at  Stamboul,  Jannina  was  a  focus 
of  Greek  learning,  and  the  travellers  in  the  early  19th 
century  tell  us  of  scholars  like  Athanasius  Psalida.  Byron 
met  one  of  his  pupils  at  Athens,  in  1801,  and  wrote  of 
him  that  he  was  'better  educated  than  the  fellow  com- 
moners of  most  colleges.'  I  had  heard  of  Lucas  Via,  of 
John  Valeras,  and  other  natives  of  Jannina,  who  brought 
to  it  the  culture  of  the  West,  of  the  schools  of  Psalida  and 
the  Zossimas,  of  Sakellarios  and  Coletti,  and  Metra,  but 
Dr.  Georgitsis  told  me  of  more,  and  among  others  of  the 
famous  school  founded  by  the  brothers  Philanthropinos 
in  1650,  which  flourished  for  more  than  a  century. 

"This  does  not  sound  extraordinary  as  it  is  put  down  on 
paper,  but  if  we  try  to  realize  the  barbarous  environment 
amid  which  these  things  were  accomplished  and  the  savage 
tyranny  which  essayed  to  thwart  them,  the  achievement  is 
little  short  of  marvellous.  It  is  a  matter  of  wonder  that 
Epirus  has  had  to  wait  so  long  for  her  emancipation  while 
other  regions  which  deserved  it  less  have  long  enjoyed  it. 
But  not  all  Epirus  is  free.  Districts  as  Greek  and  as  cul- 
tured as  Jannina,  Argyrocastro,  Moschopolis.  (Kory- 
tsa),  where  a  printing-press  was  established  nearly  200 
years  ago,  are  excluded,  because  a  company  of  gentlemen 
seated  round  a  green  table  in  London  have  drawn  a  line  on 
a  map  and  decreed  otherwise. 


6i>  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

"I  am  writing  this  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Georgitsis.  His 
fourteen-year-old  son,  Sophocles,  is  seated  opposite  to  me 
doing  his  lessons.  He  is  at  the  Gymnasium,  (the  High 
School)  which  has  existed  for  well  nigh  a  century  amid 
incredible  difficulties.  His  school  fellows  of  the  senior 
class  are  not  here.  They  have  gone  to  join  the  Hierolochi- 
tae,  the  sacred  band,  to  fight  if  need  be  for  unredeemed 
Epirus.  So  has  the  doctor's  nephew,  who  was  residing 
lately  at  West  Norwood.  So  has  the  best  young  blood  of 
the  countiy. 

"I  shall  meet  some  of  them,  for  I  leave  today  in  order  to 
try  and  give  some  account  of  the  land  which  has  been 
handed  over  to  a  fictitious  state  created  to  satisfy  the 
covetous  aspirations  of  two  European  Powers." 

We  may  add  a  few  more  remarks  on  the  culture  of 
Epirus. 

Rizarhios  Scholi  at  Athens  is  the  Theological  Seminary 
of  Greece.  It  w^as  founded  by  Rhizos  of  Epirus,  and 
more  than  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  professors  and  of  the 
students  are  Epirotes. 

Paul  Melas,  the  famous  Greek  officer  who  went  to  ^lace- 
donia  in  1902,  and  drove  out  the  Bulgarian  comitadjis,  was 
an  Epirote.  To  him  Hellenism  owes  the  rescue  of  INIace-* 
donia  from  the  brutality  of  the  Bulgars. 

When  Mr.  Venizelos  left  Athens  in  1916,  and  founded 
his  Provisional  Government  at  Salonica,  in  order  to  com- 
bat the  Germanophile  King  Constantine  and  lead  the 
Greek  people  to  the  assistance  of  the  cause  of  the  Allies, 
the  two  men  who  with  him  formed  the  famous  triumvirate, 
which  finally  drove  out  Constantine,  and  defeated  Bul- 
garia, were  Epirotes,  from  Northern  Epirus ! 

General  Danglis,  the  INIinister  of  War  under  the  Provi- 
sional Government  at  Salonica,  and  the  present  INIinister 
of  War  of  Greece  is  from  Argj^'ocastron. 

The  other  prominent  figure  in  the  Triumvirate,  Admiral 
Countoriotes,  the  present  Admiral  of  Greece,  and  the  vie- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  65 

tor  of  the  Dardanelles  in  1912,  when  he  was  the  admiral  of 
the  Greek  Fleet,  comes  from  North  Epirus. 

The  most  classic  poet  of  Modern  Greece,  Crystallis, 
comes  from  Epirus. 

In  brief,  Epirus  is  for  Modern  Greece  what  Massachu- 
setts or  New  England  is  for  the  United  States.  Epirus 
was  the  principal  factor  for  the  preservation  of  Greek 
culture,  together  with  Constantinople  for  over  500  years. 

Epirus,  through  Souli,  and  Parga,  through  Tjavellas, 
Bozzaris,  Diakos,  Catsantones,  Tjovaras,  Androutsos  and 
Caraiscakis,  initiated  and  carried  to  a  successful  end  the 
Greek  Revolution  of  1821-1829. 

Epirus  has  contributed  more  than  any  other  Greek 
Province  to  the  regeneration  of  Modern  Greece  with 
moneys,  schools,  and  other  princely  gifts;  and  the  Greek 
race  looks  upon  Epirus,  as  the  Americans  look  upon  New 
England,  with  pride  and  affection. 

But  the  culture  of  the  Epirotes  is  not  only  academic,  for 
in  the  art  of  self-govermnent  the  Epirotes  have  achieved 
success  which  makes  the  chasm  between  them  and  the  law- 
less tribes  of  the  Albanians  even  greater. 

The  historian  Dumont  in  his  excellent  work  La  Tiirquie 
d'Europe,  published  in  1875,  writes  about  the  culture  of 
Epirus : 

"To  judge  the  Turks  one  should  see  the  provinces;  lodge 
in  their  houses ;  live  their  lives  as  an  unknown  among  them. 
In  the  same  way  to  become  acquainted  with  the  Greeks, 
the  Bulgarians  or  the  Armenians  one  should  not  be  content 
with  visiting  only  the  capitals  of  these  nations.  One  must 
go  to  the  country.  I  have  travelled  throughout  the  coun- 
try of  the  Epirotes. 

"In  the  districts  the  most  remote  and  mountainous,  the 
newspapers  of  Jannina  or  Athens  arrive  daily. 

"The  Epirotes,  like  the  rest  of  the  Greeks,  are  excellent 
in  the  practice  of  their  communal  liberties.  They  have  all 
the  qualities  requisite  for  the  art  of  municipal  government. 


<66  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

"Political  life  is  very  active  and  eloquence  is  much 
prized. 

"  'In  Epirus,  as  throughout  Turkey,  a  Greek  village 
without  a  teacher,'  says  a  proverb,  'is  as  rare  as  a  valley 
without  the  corresponding  hills.' 

"In  villages  where  I  could  not  count  more  than  one  hun- 
dred houses,  the  teachers  showed  nie  their  libraries.  I 
could  see  there  the  classical  collections  of  Tauchnitz. 

"Instruction  is  not  compulsory,  but  none  would  consent 
to  deprive  his  children  of  an  education. 

"The  expense  of  instruction  is  borne  by  the  parents  in 
each  village. 

"Each  village  has  its  own  treasury,  and  the  moneys  in 
them  come  from  (a)  bequests,  (b)  contributions  by  the 
Orthodox  churches,  (c)   gifts  of  wealthy  Epirotes  abroad. 

"The  budget  is  arranged  according  to  the  calculated  ex- 
penses for  the  year. 

"In  proportion  to  the  resources  of  the  community, 
churches  are  decorated,  or  new  ones  are  erected ;  a  hospital 
is  endowed;  or  a  first-class  teacher  is  imported  from 
Athens ;  a  young  man  is  sent  to  the  University  of  Athens, 
or  for  studies  abroad ;  a  road  long  neglected  by  the  Otto- 
man Government  is  repaired. 

"It  is  a  most  rare  case  when  two  Greek  parties  appear 
before  a  Turkish  Tribunal  to  adjust  differences.  Noth- 
ing does  so  much  honor  to  the  Greeks  as  the  good  sense  with 
which,  without  a  written  law,  without  constitution,  they 
know  how  to  regulate  their  municipal  affairs 

"The  broadest  democracy  is  the  law  of  these  communi- 
ties. Educational  equality  is  almost  perfect.  Large  for- 
tunes do  not  create  great  differences  among  them. 

"The  poor  are  rare  among  them.  Even  the  laborer  who 
lives  on  his  wages  is  never  subjected  to  those  hardships  so 
frequent  in  our  Western  life.  The  vivacity  of  their 
spirit  never  changes.  At  the  agora,  at  the  church,  at  the 
theatre,  the  merchant,  the  worker,  and  the  rich  landowner, 
are  always  equals. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  67 

"No  people  erect  so  many  churches  and  chapels  as  the 
Epirotes.  It  was  so  with  their  ancient  ancestors  before 
Christianity.  Hence  this  great  number  of  edifices  in  honor 
of  their  heroes,  or  of  the  saints. 

"Pausanias,  in  his  description  of  Greece  proper,  cites  at 
every  step  monuments  and  altars.  And  I  am  sure  there 
were  many  more  which  he  has  left  out. 

"The  Epirotes'  taste  for  chapels  is  inherited  from  the 
Ancient  Greeks. 

"Everywhere  the  warmest  reception  is  given  to 
strangers. 

"Activity  is  very  great,  and  fortunes  are  not  rare.  A 
Westerner  will  find  a  comfortable  home;  the  rooms  vast, 
well  ventilated,  opening  almost  always  to  the  east,  are 
elegant,  and  simple. 

"The  people  emigrate  to  foreign  lands  but  never  forget 
to  return  to  their  homes.  Never  is  a  Greek  afraid  of  a 
voyage.  Motion  delights  him;  and  novelty  enchants  him. 
And  he  needs  so  little  to  make  himself  happy  anyway. 
And  making  a  living  for  a  Greek  is  not  a  matter  which 
worries  him  much.  He  is  so  ingenious.  An  Epirote  who 
has  only  seen  his  own  town  or  village  is  very  rare. 

"If  you  are  a  stranger,  in  the  evening  they  give  you  the 
best  entertainment  they  can,  and  speak  to  you  of  Hellas, 
of  the  tyranny  of  the  Turks  and  the  Albanians,  of  the 
'Megale  Idea'  or  Great  National  Ideal,  the  union  of  all  the 
Hellenes  with  Greece. 

"Thus  one  passes  his  days  among  these  interesting  peo- 
ple. Indeed,  in  order  to  be  able  to  understand  the  Ancient 
Greeks,  one  should  go  and  live  among  the  descendants  of 
Pericles  and  Thucydides. 

"For  one  cannot  long  live  among  them  w^ithout  recogniz- 
ing ancient  traditions.  Their  language  differs  very  little 
from  the  ancient  Greek.  The  Romaic  or  Neo-Hellenic 
language  is  but  a  dialect,  an  idiom  which  was  spoken  but 
was  not  written,  by  the  Ancient  Greeks.  Here  one  sees 
customs  in  daily  life  as  old  as  Homer." 


68  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

We  have  dealt  with  the  cultural  status  of  each  of  the  two 
peoples — the  Albanians  and  the  Epirotes — because  after 
all  it  is  culture  which  is  an  unsurmountable  barrier  between 
the  two  peoples. 

The  Epirote  is  peaceful,  industrious,  educated.  The 
Albanian  war-like,  savage,  untutored,  idle,  poor,  and  un- 
governable. 

The  persistence  of  the  Epirotes  in  preserving  their  char- 
acter is  one  of  the  things  which  strikes  a  Westerner  when 
he  visits  the  near  East.  Like  the  Jews,  the  Greeks  are 
immortal.  Neither  the  Turks,  nor  the  Slavs,  nor  the  Al- 
banians, nor  the  Xornians,  nor  the  Francs,  have  been  able 
to  alter  their  national  characteristics.  ]Many  towns  and 
villages  have  been  overthrown  and  burnt  down.  But  each 
day  they  spring  up  anew  from  their  ruins. 

It  is  a  crime  to  force  a  people  like  the  Alsatians  to  live 
under  the  rule  of  the  nomads  of  Arabia,  or  of  the  savage 
tribes  of  Transcaucasia. 

And  yet,  this  was  the  crime  perpetrated  by  the  Great 
Powers  in  1913,  when  they  decreed  that  more  than  one  half 
of  Greek  Epirus  should  be  driven  by  force  of  arms  to  live 
in  the  anarchy  of  Pan- Albanian  brigandage. 

Having  thus  seen  that  the  will  of  the  Epirotes  of  North- 
ern Epirus  to  work  together  is  definite  and  clean-cut  and 
that  it  is  outspokenly  for  union  with  Greece;  having  also 
seen  that  the  cultural  ties  of  the  Epirotes  and  of  the  Greeks 
are  too  strong  to  be  shattered  by  the  unjust  "decisions  of 
politicians  sitting  round  green  tables,"  we  pass  to  other 
considerations  of  secondary  importance. 

Are  there  any  Albanians  in  Northern  Epirus,  and  what 
are  the  numerical  proportions  of  the  Greeks  and  Al- 
banians? 

And  before  we  enter  the  discussion  of  numbers  it  is  nec- 
essary to  give  our  attention  to  a  brief  study  of  the  geog- 
raphy, and  the  boundaries  of  the  land  of  Northern  Epims. 


CHAPTER  VI 
GEOGRAPHY  OF  EPIRUS 

Having  thus  explained  the  Epirotic  problem,  it  is  now 
necessary  to  give  the  reader  a  general  idea  of  the  Province 
of  Epirus  and  to  point  out  what  parts  of  it  are  coveted  by 
the* Albanians,  and  refused  to  them  by  the  Epirotes  them- 
selves. 

Tlie  Province  of  Epirus  includes  what  was  known  under 
the  Ottoman  Empire  as  the  Vilayet  of  Jannina  and  the 
Sanjak  of  Korytsa.  More  specifically,  Epirus  begins  to 
the  north  at  the  Acroceraunian  Mountains  on  the  Adriatic 
coast  slightly  south  of  Valona,  and  eastward  to  the  Lake 
of  Ochrida.  To  the  east  Epirus  is  bounded  by  Macedonia, 
to  the  west  by  the  Adriatic  Sea,  and  to  the  south  by  the 
Gulf  of  Preveza  and  the  Greek  frontiers  of  1912. 

The  total  area  of  the  Province  is  about  5000  geographi- 
cal miles.     The  population  is  nearly  500,000. 

The  frontier  proposed  by  the  Epirotes  would  leave  to 
them  the  Vilayet  of  Jannina,  with  the  Sanjaks  of  Jannina, 
Preveza,  Goumenitza,  in  full;  the  larger  part  of  the  Sanjak 
of  Argyrocastro,  and  in  the  Sanjak  of  Korytsa,  the 
Kazas  of  Korytsa,  and  Colonia  in  full  and  half  of  the  Kaza 
of  Stazovo. 

These  boundaries  are  far  to  the  south  of  the  original 
boundaries  of  Epirus  in  earlier  days.  But  owing  to  the 
Islamisation  of  the  inhabitants  north  of  the  Acroceraunian 
^Mountains,  the  Epirotes  consider  the  JNIoslems  completely 
irreconcilable  to  the  Christians  and  therefore  have  no  desire 
to  include  in  Epirus  any  lands  north  of  these  mountains. 

That  Epirus  extends  at  least  to  the  Acroceraunian 
Mountains  is  not  a  vain  invention  of  the  Epirotes. 

At  the  beginning  of  our  treatise  we  have  quoted  Ancient 
writers  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  have  seen  that  in  the  days 

69 


70  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

of  Athens  and  Rome  Epirus  extended  as  far  north  as 
Durazzo. 

Philip  Sea  pubhshed  a  map  in  1690-1701,  "A  New  Map 
of  The  World,"  in  which  he  puts  the  boundaries  of  Epirus 
above  Valona,  and  includes  Epirus  in  Greece. 

F.  de  Wit  in  1680  published  a  map,  "Turcicum  Im- 
perium,"  according  to  which  Epirus  begins  at  Durazzo, 
and  forms  a  part  of  Greece. 

Dancherus,  in  1650,  published  his  map,  "Turcius  Im- 
perius,"  in  which  Epirus  begins  north  of  Valona,  and  is 
part  of  Greece. 

B.  Randolph,  in  1650,  published  his  map,  "Graecia,"  in 
w  hich  Epirus,  a  province  of  Greece,  begins  to  the  north  of 
Valona. 

G.  Blau,  in  1650,  in  his  map,  "Imperium  Turcicum," 
describes  Epirus  as  a  Province  of  Greece,  beginning  to 
the  north  of  Valona. 

Saurembergios'  Map,  "Macedonia  Alexandri  INI.,"  de- 
fines Epirus  as  a  province  of  Greece  which  begins  to  the 
north  of  Valona. 

Pouqueville  in  1804  produced  his  famous  Histoire  de  La 
Grece,  in  which  he  gives  a  very  illuminating  table  of  the 
districts  included  in  Epirus  in  ancient  times  as  well  as  in 
1804,  under  Turkish  domination. 

We  reproduce  the  table : 


Modern 

Ancient 

Modern  Cantons 

Villages 

Sanjaks 

Provinces 

I 
Hellopia 

(  Jannina 

54. 

M  oil  OS  i  a 

I  Pogonion 

40 

Thynipeida 

Sarochovitsa 

18 

11 

Courendas 

24 

Perrhebia 

III 

Zagori 

44 

Atintania 

Jannina 

IV 

\  Conitsa 

36 

Dolopia 

\  Sesanathes 

18 

V 

Anovlachia 

37 

Athamania 

Doumerca  and 

VI 

Part  of  Radovitch 

65 

Paravia  or 

Tetmez 

15 

Paroria 

AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 


Modern 
Sanjaks 


Ancient 
Provinces 


Modern  Cantons 


7r 

Villages 


VII 

Drynopolis 

43 

Delvino 

Dryopia 

Himara 

85 

Chaonia 

Arboria 

136 

Parachaloraa 

130 

Philates 

609 

IX 

Chamouri 

Thesprotia 

Paramythia  and  | 

Cestrine 

Palio-Kistes         j 

54 

X 

Aidonia  or 

Aidonia 

72 

Celtica 

XI 

Sella 

Souli 

4 

XII 

Arta 

Cassiopia 
XIII 

Spianza  and  Lamari 

25 

Ambracia 

Rogous 

42 

XIV 

Amphilochia 

Arta 

85 

Total  number  of  villages  of  Epirus 


841 


Pouqueville  states  that  Epirus  is  a  province  of  Greece, 
and  begins  north  of  Valona. 

We  are  indebted  to  Pouqueville  for  information  on  the 
ecclesiastical  division  of  Epirus. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Greek  Church,  like  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  in  its  ecclesiastical  government,  fol- 
lowed the  imperial  division  into  districts,  ei3iscopates  and 
so  on. 

We  give  herewith  Pouqueville's  table  of  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal division  of  Epirus: 


Metropolitan  seat 

Archbishopric 

Bishopric 


Province 

1. 
2. 

Nicopolis 
Phoenice  (Delvino) 

V 
V 

century 

3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 

Rogous 

Vonitza  (Vonitsa) 
Actis  (Arta) 
Dodona 

IX 
IX 
IX 
VI 

« 

7. 
8. 

Cassiopia  (Jannina) 
Buthrotum 

IX 
V 

9. 
10, 

Drynopolis 
Photice  or  Velas 

V 
V 

« 

12. 

Aidonia 

V 

t< 

13. 

Anchiasmus  (St.  Quaranta) 

V 

u 

72  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Kiej^ert,  the  most  exact  and  scientific  geographer  of 
modern  times,  sets  the  boundaries  of  Epirus  to  the  north 
of  Valona,  and  includes  Epirus  in  the  h^nds  called  Greek. 

Epirus  has  five  great  centres  of  culture  and  commerce: 
Jannina,  Konitza,  Santi  Quaranta,  Argyrocastron,  and 
Korytsa. 

The  first  two  cities  are  in  Southern  Epirus,  the  last  three 
in  Northern  Epirus. 

Although  Korytsa  and  Konitza  have  each  a  college  for 
boys  and  schools  for  girls,  the  collegiate  studies  of  all  the 
Epirotes  are  done  by  preference  at  the  College  Zossimaea 
at  Jannina. 

Commercially,  Jannina  is  the  centre.  The  highways 
connecting  Jannina,  Santi  Quaranta,  Argyrocastron, 
Korytsa,  are  the  only  outlets  of  Epirus  both  to  the  Adriatic 
Sea,  and  to  Monastir,  and  Salonica. 

High  mountains  completely  isolate  Korytsa  and  Argy- 
rocastron from  Valona  and  the  rest  of  Albania.  There  are 
no  trade  routes  from  Epirus  to  Albania. 

Northern  Epirus  has  always  looked  upon  Jannina  as  its 
educational  and  commercial  metropolis. 

The  Ottoman  Empire  found  it  politically  practicable  to 
govern  the  whole  province  through  the  Vali  of  Jannina. 

The  Greek  Patriarchate,  following  the  ancient  line  of  the 
political  boundaries  of  Epirus,  had  all  the  churches  of 
Epirus  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  JNIetropolitan  Bishop 
of  Jannina. 


CHAPTER  VII 
POPULATION  OF  EPIRUS 

The  total  population  of  Epirus  is  nearly  500,000. 

The  statistical  table  on  p.  77  gives  the  numbers  of  the 
various  races  inhabiting  Epirus. 

In  connection  with  the  table  it  is  well  to  remark  that  the 
total  Greek-speaking  population  is  greater  than  the  total 
Mussulman  population,  or  193,925  and  116,815,  respec- 
tively. 

The  tables  are  compilations  from  the  Turkish  census  of 
1908.  The  Turkish  government  considered  all  the  Mus- 
sulmans as  Turks.  In  reality,  however,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  50,000  Turks,  all  the  Mussuhnan  population  may 
be  considered  as  Albanians. 

All  the  Greek-speaking,  as  well  as  the  Albanophone, 
and  Vlachophone  Christian  population  was  classed  by  the 
Turkish  government  under  "Greeks." 

Taking  away  from  tlie  total  Mussuhnan  population  the 
50,000  Turks,  who  far  from  being  Albanians  entertain  a 
deep-rooted  hatred  for  the  Albanians,  as  we  shall  show, 
we  notice  that  the  Greek-speaking  population  of  Epirus 
alone  is  in  the  majority  over  any  one  element,  and  by  far 
more  numerous  than  the  Moslem  Albanians,  or  193,925 
Greeks  against  116,815. 

The  next  important  point  to  be  considered  is  the  na- 
tionality of  the  Vlachs. 

There  are  almost  16,623  Vlachs  in  Epirus.  From  time 
immemorial  they  are  attached  to  the  cause  of  Hellenism. 
They  speak  a  broken  jargon  known  as  "Koutzo-Vlach" 
but  they  speak  Greek  better  and  read  and  write  only 
Greek.  The  schools  and  the  churches  of  the  Vlachs  are 
Greek. 

73 


74  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS  . 

Rimiania  made  a  desperate  effort,  and  has  spent  millions 
of  francs  in  an  attempt  to  persuade  the  Vlachs  that  they 
were  not  Greeks  but  Rumanians. 

The  result  of  25  years  of  effort  on  the  part  of  Rumania 
has  proven  the  futility  of  all  attempts  to  detach  the  Epi- 
rotes  from  their  allegiance  to  Hellenism.  The  table  of 
schools  (p.  78)  shows  that  in  a  population  of  1G,G23  Vlachs, 
in  2.5  years  the  Rumanians  have  succeeded  in  showing  only 
103  pupils. 

Stournara  and  Averoff,  two  of  the  most  eminent  bene- 
factors of  Greece,  were  Vlachs. 

The  most  ardent  lovers  of  the  Hellenic  ideals  are  the 
Vlachs. 

The  writer  of  this  booklet  is  of  Vlach  parentage,  and 
can  testify  to  the  ardor  of  this  race  for  Greek  culture,  and 
Greek  nationality. 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  only  writer  who  has  expressed 
himself  in  favor  of  the  Vlachs  joining  the  Albanians,  is  Mr. 
Brailsford.  But  Mr.  Brailsford  stands  alone  on  this  point. 
His  attitude  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  has  never  visited 
Epirus,  and  has  never  seen  the  Vlachs  there.  All  the 
writers  who  have  been  in  this  province  and  have  known 
the  Vlachs  are  of  unanimous  accord  that  the  Vlachs  are 
perfect  Greeks  in  every  respect. 

Finally,  there  are  91,386  Greeks  who  speak  Albanian  in 
their  families,  but  who  also  speak  Greek  and  read  and  write 
only  Greek. 

The  Albanians  clamor  that  these  people  who  use  a 
broken  Albanian  dialect  in  their  homes  are  Albanian. 

The  Albanophones  are  Greeks  in  sentiment ;  they  desire 
union  with  Greece;  they  despise  and  hate  the  Albanians, 
and  in  1914  were  the  first  to  rise  against  the  Albanian  state^ 
demanding  union  with  Greece, 

Looking  at  the  statistical  table  of  population,  and  cast- 
ing an  eye  on  the  map  we  shall  notice  that  the  larger  num- 
ber of  Albanophones  are  in  Korytsa,  INIargariti,  Argyro- 
castron,  Tepeleni  and  Premeti. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  75 

These  districts  represent  the  richest  districts  of  Epirus. 

The  Albanians,  invited  by  Ali  Pasha  in  1803,  settled 
in  the  choice  districts  of  Xorthern  Epirus.  The  educated 
Epirotes  of  these  occupied  districts  fled  the  country  for 
fear  of  the  wild  Albanian  Beys.  The  peasants  became 
slaves,  and  were  bound  to  the  soil. 

These  Greek  slaves  were  forced  by  the  necessity  of  pro- 
pitiating the  savagery  of  their  feudal  lords  to  hide  as  much 
as  possible  their  Greek  sentiments.  They  adopted  the 
dress  and  the  language  of  their  oppressors ;  but  they  clung 
to  the  Christian  Orthodox  Church,  the  liturgv'  of  which  was 
in  Greek.  These  peasants  in  less  than  a  century  have  lost 
their  original  language,  just  as  in  less  than  40  years  Ger- 
man pressure  has  altered  the  linguistic  character  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine;  but  the  traditions,  the  aspirations,  and  the  ideals 
of  these  unfortunate  Epirotes  remained  unchanged,  thor- 
oughly Greek. 

The  Greeks  of  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor  speak  only 
Turkish.  But  none  will  deny  that  they  are  as  good  Greeks 
as  those  born  in  Athens. 

The  Spanish  American  republics  speak  Spanish,  but 
they  are  not  parts  of  Spain.  In  deciding  upon  the  na- 
tionality of  the  Albanophones  we  should  not  take  as  a 
criterion  the  language,  which  today  may  be  Albanian  and 
tomorrow  Greek.  We  should  apply  the  measure  de- 
scribed by  Lord  Cromer,  IMr.  Toynbee,  and  JNIr.  Clemen- 
ceau — the  will  of  the  Albanophones  themselves. 

And  the  will  of  the  Albanophones  w^as  unmistakably 
made  evident  by  their  successful  revolt  against  Albania  in 
1914. 

That  the  Albanophones  are  Greeks  in  sentiment  and 
that  they  demand  union  with  Greece  w^e  shall  see  later, 
from  the  testimonies  of  eminent  writers  who  have  been  eye- 
witnesses during  the  struggle  of  1914  in  N.  Epirus. 

Upon  analysis  of  the  proportions  as  given  in  the  table, 
it  is  seen  that  in  the  most  important  districts  the  majority 
of  the  Greek  element  is  indisputable. 


76         THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

That  the  Albanian  dialect  spoken  by  the  Epirotes  in 
certain  districts  of  Northern  Epirus  does  not  prove  that 
those  Epirotes  are  Albanians  historically  is  clearly  demon- 
strated by  authors  who  have  made  special  studies  on 
Epirus. 

Dr.  Dillon  writes  in  the  Contemporary  Review  of  April, 
1903: 

"For  the  past  ten  years  or  more  the  Albanians  have  been 
slowly  extending  their  territory,  and  without  serious  oppo- 
sition. Their  Christian  neighbors  who  occupied  the  land 
were  either  killed  off  or  driven  away  in  large  numbers. 

"Thus  'the  chivalrous  brigands'  have  succeeded  in  be- 
coming predominant  even  where  they  are  in  the  minority, 
seeing  that  they  carry  weapons  openly  and  know  how  to 
use  them,  while  the  Christians  are  by  law  unarmed. 

"Many  tribes  live  almost  exclusively  by  the  proceeds  of 
organized  depredations  on  the  Christians  who  try  to  live 
and  work  in  their  neighborhood." 

The  numerous  quotations  we  have  already  cited  from 
General  Perrhaebus,  the  works  of  Pouqueville,  Hob- 
house,  and  Leake  are  full  of  instances  of  forced  Albanifi- 
cation. 

The  following  story,  narrated  to  the  author  of  this  book- 
let by  H.  Bolo,  a  citizen  of  Boston,  and  a  distinguished 
leader  in  the  Epirotic  Revolution  of  1914,  is  perhaps  the 
most  potent  evidence  of  the  soundness  of  the  contention 
that  that  portion  of  Northern  Epirus  which  speaks  Al- 
banian, besides  Greek,  was  forced  to  alter  its  national  lan- 
guage, in  order  to  propitiate  the  furious  savagery  of  the 
Albanian  invaders. 

Mr.  Bolo  told  the  author  one  day  in  his  youth  he  was 
sent  by  his  parents  to  cany  sheep  from  Argi^Tocastron  to 
Jannina.  "It  was  very  necessary,"  he  said,  "that  I  learn 
Albanian,  because,  if  I  did  not  know  Albanian,  the  Al- 
banians would  have  recognized  me  as  a  Christian  and  as  a 
Greek,  and  would  have  stolen  my  sheep,  and  even  killed 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE 


77 


me  and  my  attendants.     But  I  had  to  do  even  more  than 
that.     I  had  to  wear  the  head-gear  of  the  Albanians." 

There  are  over  30,000  Epirotes  in  America.  Most  of 
them  are  simple,  and  untutored  laborers.  Everyone  of 
them,  I  am  sure,  will  tell  a  similar  tale  to  that  of  Mr.  Bolo. 


TABLE  OF  POPULATION  OF  EPIRUS 

The  statistical  table  that  follows  is  taken  from  the  fa- 
mous work  of  Amadori  Virgili,  published  in  1908. 


GREEKS 

Total 
Greeks 

Mussul- 
mans 

Total 

DISTRICT 

Greco- 
phones 

Alhano- 
phones 

Vlacho- 
phones 

Popula- 
tion 

Jannina   

Metsovo 

Liescovikion    

Preveza    

72,674 

5,862 

6,100 

12,543 

20,162 

1,400 

17,340 

9,936 

13,178 

12,231 

3,865 

18,615 

1,400 

'2,624 

1,100 
8,812 
250 
2,600 
7,916 
4,155 
3,383 
5,846 
9,500 

10,800 

"ioo 

2,138 
2,381 

64,874 

5,882 

8,734 

12,542 

21,283 

10,212 

17,690 

12,536 

21,094 

16,38() 

7,848 

5,846 

11,638 

20,986 

5,032 

"  4,584 

1,854 

882 

18,426 

11,276 

4,704 

21,032 

5,450 

4,750 

15,866 

18,630 

810 

89,900 
5,682 
13,308 
14,326 
22  1 14 

Louros    

INIargariti     

Philiates     

Paramythia     

Arg\'roeastron    . . . 

l^elvinon     

Cheimarra    

Tepelen    

68,638 
28,966 
17,260 
42,126 
21,836 
11,998 
91,412 

Premeti    

Pogonion    

30,158 
81,806 

Total    

Corvtsa    

193,935 

47,586 
43,800 

15,409 
1,214 

256,920 
45,014 

113,896 
53,919 

369,816 
98,933 

Total    

193,935 

91,386 

16,693 

301,934 

166,815 

468,749 

CHAPTER  VIII 
SCHOOLS 


We  now  come  to  the  schools  of  Epirus : 

TABLE  OF  STATISTICS  OF  SCHOOLS  IN  EPIRUS: 


Number  of  Teachers   Number  of  Pupils  Number  of  Schools 


W 


3  J^ 


a 


a 


o 


Jaxxika: 

City   of   Jannina..  (8) 
Jannina  (incl.  City 
of    Jannina) ..  .x?o8 

Metsovo     8 

Konitza    31 

Leskoviko    34 

Filiatai    34 

Pararaythia    33 

Total    in    the 

Sanjaks 397 

Arg^tiocastro  : 

Argyrocastro  ....   50 

Delvino    24 

Premeti 35 

Tepelen     18 

Himara    8 

Pogoni  43 

Total    in     the 
Sanjaks 177 

Preveza  : 

Preveza    32 

Louves 36 

Margariti    30 

Total    98 

Berat: 

Berat   18 

Scraperi    1 

Lousina   25 

Yalona     10 

Total    54 

Total  in  the  Vilayet.  .726 


(1) 


(80)       (2) 


..   3Sl 

8 

20 

1 

36 

3 

36 

, . 

33 

•• 

459 

59 
33 
39 

22 
14 
57 


224 


1,467) 

(35)   .. 

9,417 

63 

482 

.  • 

1,089 

22 

1,118 

1,302 

. . 

732 

12 


14,140        85 


1,916 

■  •        •  • 

1,063 

.  . 

1,118 

18 

589 

507 

• . 

2,061 

.. 

7,254         18 


40 
36 
31 

•  • 

•  • 

1,254 

1,180 

681 

•• 

•  * 

107 

•  • 

3,115 

.. 

28 
21 
29 
16 

•  * 

5 

769 

24 

623 

435 

•• 

40 

74 

864 

13 

5 
5 

1,851 
96,360 

103 

40 
40 

School  and  church  maps  and  statistics  by  ^madori  Virgili,  1908. 

78 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  79 

Taking  the  table  and  analyzing  it  very  briefly  we  are 
induced  to  notice  that : 

1.  The  Greek  schools  are  evenly  distributed  throughout 
the  entire  Province. 

2.  There  are  no  Albanian  schools  at  all. 

3.  The  Province  presents  a  very  high  school  attendance. 
In  a  Greek  population  of  301,934,  nearly  27,000  children 
of  both  sexes  attend  Greek  schools,  that  is,  nearly  10  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  Greek  population  of  Epirus. 

The  schools  are,  in  our  opinion,  a  very  convincing  ex- 
pression of  the  will  of  the  Epirotes  to  stay  Greeks.  Will 
an  American  send  his  child  of  from  5  to  16  years  of  age 
to  a  Mexican  school  when  he  can  easily  send  him  to  an 
American?  Does  not  the  enormous  number  of  schools, 
teachers,  and  pupils,  show  beyond  any  doubt  that  the  par- 
ents, who  prefer  to  send  their  children  to  a  Greek  school  to 
learn  the  Greek  language  first  before  they  learn  any  other 
language,  to  learn  Greek  History  first,  to  express  their 
thoughts  in  Greek,  to  say  their  prayers  in  Greek,  to  write 
to  their  parents  in  Greek,  to  learn  their  arithmetic  and  their 
plays  in  Greek,  that  those  parents  are  Greeks  and  intend 
that  their  children  shall  be  Greeks  also? 

But  the  Albanophiles  object  to  our  school  evidence. 
They  claim  that  the  Epirotes  established  Greek  schools  for 
three  reasons : 

1.  They  were  not  allowed  by  the  Turkish  Government  to 
have  Albanian  schools. 

2.  The  Greek  language  attracted  them  by  its  culture. 

3.  The  Greek  language  is  a  commercial  language  in  the 
Near  East. 

That  the  Turkish  Government  discouraged  Albanian 
learning  is  true.  But  it  is  no  less  true  that  the  same  Gov- 
ernment discouraged  and  hindered  Greek,  Bulgar,  Serb, 
and  Rumanian  learning.  Nevertheless,  the  Greeks,  the 
Bulgars,  the  Serbs,  and  the  Rumanians  imposed  their  will 
upon  the  Turks  and  forced  the  latter  to  allow  the  teaching 
of  their  respective  languages.     Had  the  Albanians  been 


80  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

animated  by  a  nationalist  spirit,  they  could  easily  have 
forced  the  Turks  to  permit  the  teaching  of  the  Albanian 
language.  We  know  the  fierceness  of  the  Albanians  too 
well  to  believe  that  they  would  have  brooked  Turkish  inter- 
ference in  Albanian  affairs.  If  the  Turks  failed  for  500 
years  to  penetrate  Albania,  and  impose  taxes,  and  con- 
script the  Albanians,  how  naive  it  is  to  contend  that  the 
Albanians  were  deprived  of  culture  because  of  Turkish  in- 
terference? The  truth  is  that  the  Albanians  hate  educa- 
tion; and  that  the  Epirotes  have  never  shared  with  the 
Albanians  any  common  aims  or  common  ideals. 

To  the  contention  that  the  Epirotes  were  attracted  by 
Greek  culture  we  will  reply  that  the  Epirotes  in  the  last 
30  years  have  been  solicitously  offered  other  cultures — the 
Italian  and  the  Austrian — and  yet  the  Epirotes  have  re- 
fused both  of  these  cultures  with  resentment. 

Italy  and  Austria  have  opened  schools  throughout 
Epirus  with  the  intention  of  teaching  the  Albanian  lan- 
guage together  with  Italian,  the  German  and  French  lan- 
guages. The  Italians  were  so  anxious  that  the  Epirotes 
should  cease  to  attend  the  Greek  schools  and  learn  Al- 
banian and  Italian  that  the  Italian  Government  not  only 
subsidized  Italian  and  Albanian  schools  and  teachers,  but 
also  offered  to  pay  every  Epirote's  child  that  attended 
their  schools.  Yet,  the  Epirotes  have  not  patronized  these 
foreign  schools  because  they  saw  in  them  institutions  which 
aimed  at  the  denationalization  of  Epirus. 

The  third  contention  that  this  language  is  a  commercial 
language  cannot  stand.  The  Greek  language  is  not  as 
necessary  in  the  commercial  transactions  of  the  orient  as 
the  German,  the  French,  the  English  and  the  Italian  lan- 
guages. 

The  Austrian  and  Italian  teachers  promised  the  young 
Epirotes  a  much  brighter  career  than  that  offered  by  a 
Greek  education.  The  Italians  offered  the  Epirotes  not 
only  a  successful  career  in  Italy  or  other  countries  of 
Europe,  but  also  protection  from  the  cruelty  of  the  Turks. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  81 

Every  inducement  was  offered  to  draw  the  Epirotes  from 
the  Greek  schools.  The  results  of  the  prodigious  efforts 
of  the  Austrians  and  Italians  are  seen  in  this  paper. 

The  Epirotes  were  not  constrained  to  learn  Greek. 
The  case  of  Alsace-Lorraine  and  the  forced  attendance  of 
the  French  children  in  the  German  schools  cannot  be  ad- 
duced as  a  parallel  to  the  attendance  of  the  Epirote  chil- 
dren in  the  Greek  schools.  The  schools  of  the  Epirotes 
are  their  own,  built,  managed  and  endowed  by  themselves, 
without  Greek  interference  and  without  any  assistance 
from  Greece.  In  fact  the  Epirotes  not  only  have  not  re- 
ceived assistance  and  inspiration  from  Greece,  but  are  even 
responsible  for  most  of  the  educational  institutions  of 
Greece  herself. 

To  form  a  slight  idea  of  the  vast  cultural  efforts  of  the 
Epirotes — efforts  altogether  spontaneous  and  unsubsidized 
— it  is  well  to  mention  here  that  in  a  population  of  300,000 
Greeks  in  Epirus,  there  are  2,000  churches.  Serbia  with  a 
population  of  5,000,000,  has  not  more  than  2,000  churches. 

These  contentions  may  be  also  met  by  the  following 
considerations : 

( 1 )  Albania  is  as  old  as  Greece.  If  the  Albanians  had 
ever  had  a  national  consciousness,  that  national  conscious- 
ness would  have  found  expression  in  national  culture,  pop- 
ular songs  and  literature. 

The  Greeks  had  been  under  Turkey  for  nearly  five  hun- 
dred years ;  so  have  the  Rumanians,  the  Serbs  and  the  Bul- 
gars.  During  the  period  of  their  servitude  these  four  na- 
tionalities gave  evidence  of  national  consciousness  through 
their  poets,  their  writers,  their  popular  songs  and  their 
histories.  Only  Albania  has  remained  to  our  day  without 
a  j)an- Albanian  language,  without  national  popular  songs, 
without  poets  and  without  a  single  work  of  literature. 

(2)  If  the  Northern  Epirotes  had  had  an  Albanian  na- 
tional consciousness,  they  would  have  done  what  the  Bul- 
gars  and  the  Rumanians  did,  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th 
century.     They  would  have  driven  away  the  Greek  priest 


82  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPmUS 

and  the  Greek  teacher,  and  would  liave  either  established 
Albanian  schools,  or  would  have  chosen  the  culture  of  an- 
other Christian  nation,  such  as  England,  France,  Italy  or 
Austria. 

(3)  The  Turks  brought  to  bear  the  same,  or  even  more 
violent  ojDpression  upon  Greek  culture  than  they  did  upon 
the  Albanian  schools.  It  was  only  the  force  of  the  national 
consciousness  of  the  Greeks,  the  Bulgars,  the  Serbs,  and 
Rumanians  which  imposed  upon  the  Turks  the  recognition 
of  the  rights  of  these  subject  nationalities  to  develop  their 
national  cultures  under  the  Ottoman  dominion.  Had  the 
Northern  Epirotes  been  animated  by  an  Albanian  national 
feeling  thej'^  would  have  succeeded  as  well  as  the  Greeks  in 
making  Turkey  recognize  their  right  to  have  schools  and 
churches  for  the  education  of  their  children  in  Albania. 

(4)  In  the  last  twenty  years  a  unique  opportunity  was 
presented  to  the  Northern  Epirotes  to  emancipate  them- 
selves from  the  "hated"  Greek  schools  and  churches,  and 
to  develop  their  ow^n  Albanian  culture. 

Austria  and  Italy  were  vying  for  the  occupation  of  the 
eastern  shores  of  the  Adriatic.  In  order  that  some  day 
these  nations  might  have  a  justifiable  claim  on  Albania, 
they  initiated  a  feverish  work  of  Austrianization  and  Itali- 
anization  of  Albania  and  Epirus. 

Austria  sent  numberless  Catholic  priests  to  Northern 
Albania,  who  established  churches  and  catechised  the 
northern  Albanians  in  the  interest  of  allegiance  to  Austria. 
Italy  did  the  same  thing  in  Southern  Albania,  and  in 
Epirus.  Italy,  however,  attempted  to  create  a  pro-Italian 
sentiment  through  schools.  In  all  the  important  centres 
of  Southern  Albania  and  Epirus  Italian  schools  began  to 
spring  up. 

The  Italian  schools  w^ere  better  equipped  than  the  local 
Greek  schools.  They  offered  advantages  to  the  Epirotes 
which  could  not  be  obtained  from  the  Greek  schools. 

If  the  Epirotes  would  attend  Italian  rather  than  Greek 
schools  they  w^ere  offered  the  following  advantages: 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  83 

(a)  Protection  against  oppression  by  Turks  and  by  Al- 
banians. 

(b)  Free  education. 

(c)  Financial  assistance  to  the  parents  of  those  Epirotes 
who  sent  their  children  to  Italian  schools. 

(d)  Instruction  in  Italian  and  in  Albanian. 

(e)  Guarantee  that  the  graduates  from  the  Italian 
schools  would  be  sent  to  Italian  firms  for  profitable  posi- 
tions. 

(5)  The  Itahan  language  is  certainly  better  understood 
and  more  used  in  the  commercial  circles  of  the  Near  East 
than  the  Greek. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Northern  Epirotes  had  many  op- 
portunities to  learn  Albanian,  and  to  develop  an  Albanian 
culture  in  the  Italian  and  Austrian  schools,  with  very  great 
advantages  besides,  but  they  preferred  the  schools  of  their 
own  race. 


CHAPTER  IX 
ECONOMIC  ASPECTS  OF  THE  PROBLEM 

We  have  mentioned  that  one  of  the  arguments  brought 
forward  by  the  advocates  of  "Greater  Albania"  is  the  eco- 
nomic advantage  to  Albania  of  the  annexation  of  North- 
ern Epirus. 

It  is  maintained  that  Albania  without  Northern  Epirus 
is  economically  a  bankrupt  state. 

We  could  answer  that  no  matter  how  much  Albania 
needs  Northern  Epirus  economically,  if  the  Northern  Epi- 
rotes  object  to  their  union  with  Albania,  no  justice  can  be 
done  to  the  Epirotes  by  condemning  them  to  die  nationally 
and  economically  in  order  to  save  the  future  Albanian 
State. 

But  leaving  the  will  of  the  Epirotes  out  of  the  question, 
it  is  well  to  consider  first  whether  Northern  Epirus  consti- 
tutes in  reality  a  question  of  economic  life  or  death  for 
Albania ;  and  secondly,  whether  that  part  of  Epirus  which 
is  left  to  Greece  can  subsist  economically  with  Northern 
Epirus  in  the  hands  of  a  foreign  state. 

We  have  already  touched  upon  the  economic  unity  of 
Northern  and  Southern  Epirus  in  our  chapter  on  the  geog- 
raphy of  Epirus.  We  have  shown  that  nature  has  sepa- 
rated Northern  Epirus  from  Albania  by  rugged  moun- 
tains; that  there  are  no  roads  connecting  Valona  with 
Northern  Epirus;  that  from  time  immemorial  the  cities 
of  Korytsa,  Arg^^rocastron,  Delvino,  Santi  Quaranta  had 
Jannina  as  their  commercial,  industrial  and  intellectual 
centre. 

Albania  in  antiquity  extended  northward  from  Valona. 

1  *  84 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  85 

The  Albanian  race,  more  numerous  once  than  today,  has 
been  able  to  subsist  within  the  limits  described  by  the  Arco- 
ceraunian  Mountains  and  the  Black  Mountains  in  Monte- 
negro. Under  the  Turkish  Empire  the  Albanians  have 
been  able  to  live  within  their  mountainous  barriers  without 
industries,  without  commerce.  During  the  five  hundred 
years  of  their  subjugation  to  Turkey,  Northern  Epirus  has 
never  been  commercially  connected  with  Albania.  No 
merchants  from  Northern  Epirus  buy  from  or  sell  to  the 
Albanians  to  the  north  of  Valona.  All  the  commercial 
relations  of  Albania  with  other  lands  were  established 
through  Valona,  Durazzo,  or  San  Juan  Di  Medua. 

Now,  the  argument  that  Albania  cannot  live  economi- 
cally without  Northern  Epirus  is  unintelligible,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  by  the  union  of  Northern  Epirus  with  Greece 
no  old  established  commercial  or  industrial  or  intellectual 
relations  are  suddenly  broken  off. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  inclusion  of  Northern  Epirus  in 
the  future  Albanian  State  will  carry  with  it  the  economic 
death  of  the  entire  Province  of  Epirus,  for  one  unit,  one 
economic  integer  is  thus  broken  up  into  two.  Jannina,  the 
economic  heart  of  the  whole  province  of  Epirus,  is  cut  off 
from  three  important  arteries,  Korytsa,  Argyrocastron, 
Santi  Quaranta,  and  is  thus  doomed  to  a  complete  and  sud- 
den extinction  as  a  first  class  city.  Korytsa,  a  flourishing 
city,  is  connected  with  Argyrocastron-Jannina-Santi 
Quaranta  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  jNIonastir-Salonica 
on  the  other.  If  Northern  Epirus  is  included  in  Albania, 
Korytsa  will  be  completely  isolated  from  her  two  main 
markets,  Jannin^  and  Monastir-Salonica. 

Korytsa  will  be  forced  to  carry  on  a  meagre  trade  with 
Valona  over  most  difficult  mountains,  and  be  cut  off  from 
Monastir  (a  Serbian  city)  and  from  Salonica,  a  Greek 
city,  as  well  as  from  Jannina  (a  Greek  city). 

Business  relations  established  from  time  immemorial  be- 
tween Jannina  and  Korytsa-Monastir-Salonica  will  sud- 
denly be  broken  off.     Natural  markets  will  be  abandoned, 


86  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

and  new  markets  sought  over  mountains  nowhere  less  than 
1000  feet  high. 

The  division  of  Epirus  into  a  Northern  and  a  Southern 
Epirus,  the  one  under  Albania,  the  other  under  Greece, 
will  render  both  parts  of  the  country  completely  valueless 
for  many  years  to  come,  until  Albania  becomes  civilized 
enough  and  strong  enough  financially  to  build  railways, 
make  tunnels,  and  establish  commercial  communications 
between  Korytsa  and  Valona,  and  until  Greece  opens  new 
roads,  and  new  commercial  connections  between  Jannina 
and  other  Greek  provinces. 

But  what  the  Albanians  regard  as  the  panacea  for  the 
economic  weakness  of  the  Albanian  State  of  tomorrow  will 
not  only  fail  to  be  such  but  will  mean  the  economic  death  of 
both  Northern  and  Southern  Epirus-  as  well  as  the  de- 
cadence of  INIonastir,  the  capital  of  Serbian  Macedonia. 

IVIoreover,  the  Albanians  cannot  claim  that  Northern 
Epirus  is  so  rich  in  mines  or  other  natural  wealth  that  it 
will  be  the  source  of  wealth  very  sorely  needed  by  the  new 
State  of  Albania. 

So  far  we  have  viewed  the  economic  aspect  of  the  in- 
clusion of  Northern  Epirus  in  Albania  only  from  an  Al- 
banian standpoint. 

If  the  Albanians  are  entitled  to  the  liberty  of  demanding 
a  Greek  province  on  the  ground  that  Albania  needs  it  for 
economic  reasons,  why  are  not  the  Epirotes  themselves,  and 
the  Greek  people  as  a  whole,  entitled  to  the  same  liberty  of 
demanding  that  Northern  Epirus  remain  united  to  the  rest 
of  Epirus,  and  joined  to  Greece  for  economic,  as  well  as  for 
ethnic  reasons? 

If  Northern  Epirus  is  needed  by  Albania,  because 
Northern  Epirus  is  rich,  is  not  the  same  province  needed 
by  Greece  for  the  same  reasons?  Is  Greece  so  populous, 
so  rich,  so  powerful  that  it  can  afford  to  slice  off  portions 
of  her  national  possessions  and  offer  them  to  her  neighbors 
who  tomorrow  will  turn  against  her  and  demand  more  ? 


CHAPTER  X 
STRATEGIC  ASPECTS 

But  aside  from  the  economic  ruin  that  will  visit  Epirus 
through  being  thus  'cut  in  halves,  we  must  consider  the 
question  under  its  strategical  aspects. 

The  boundaries  as  delineated  by  the  Powers  in  1913, 
consist  of  a  mere  line  hastily  drawn  by  Sir  Edward  Grey 
on  the  Epirotic  map. 

Those  memorable  days  of  1913  were  the  old  days.  They 
were  the  days  of  the  old  diplomacy.  They  were  days  when 
the  rights  of  small  nations  were  not  troubling  the  con- 
sciences of  the  diplomats  of  the  great  Christian  States  of 
Europe. 

Italy  and  Austria  clamored  for  a  great  Albanian  state. 
A  war  with  the  Triple  Alliance  had  to  be  avoided.  What 
matter  if  200,000  Epirotes  were  surrendered  to  a  savage 
people?  What  did  it  concern  the  Foreign  Secretary  of 
Great  Britain  if  the  line  which  he  scratched  on  the  map  of 
Epirus  left  Greece  exposed  on  the  north  to  the  mercy  of 
an  enemy  with  much  superior  forces  to  her  own  ?  On  this 
subject,  however,  we  simply  touch  at  this  point.  In  the 
succeeding  pages  we  shall  quote  from  a  scholarly  lecture  of 
Colonel  Murray  of  England,  who  as  a  soldier  is  very  com- 
petent to  tell  us  of  the  strategic  disadvantages  which  will 
fall  to  the  lot  of  Greece  if  Northern  Epirus  is  separated 
from  her. 

We  are  content  here  to  mention  that  Albania  and  Epirus 
are  separated  by  most  excellent  natural  barriers,  the  Acro- 
ceraunian  Mountains,  which  have  been,  and  should  be,  the 
boundaries  between  Greece  and  Albania. 

87 


CHAPTER  XI 
ITALIAN  AMBITIONS 

''Very  soon,"  wrote  Mr.  Rene  Puaux,  the  correspondent 
of  the  Paris  Temps,  from  Eph-us  in  1914,  "the  fate 
of  Epiriis  will  be  decided.  The  Great  Powers,  yielding 
to  the  pressure  from  Italy,  will  surrender  to  the  suppositi- 
tious Albanian  State  lands  inhabited  by  patriotic  Greeks, 
delivering  them  to  the  tyranny  of  the  Albanian  Beys. 
Ital}"  has  written  brilliant  pages  in  world  history,  but  now, 
she  is  writing  a  few  detestable  ones,  all  the  more  detest- 
able as  she  abjures  all  those  principles  which  permitted 
her  to  become  a  free  nation,  in  order  to  realize  her  imperial- 
istic dreams. 

"In  seeking  to  create  an  Albanian  state,  as  large  as  pos- 
sible, in  the  hope  of  dividing  it  up  with  Austria  later,  she 
thinks  that  Austria  will  allow  her  to  occupy  Valona.  I 
do  not  pretend  to  be  a  prophet,  but  I  am  certain  that 
sooner  or  later  Serbia  and  Montenegro  will  be  united,  and 
will  demand  an  outlet  on  the  Adriatic  through  Albania, 
when  Greece  will  again  occupy  the  lands  which  are  now 
wrested  from  her.  Italy  will  have  won  nothing  from  her 
obstinacy  and  injustice,  except  the  alienation  of  the 
sympathies  of  the  Greek  people.  Mr.  Di  San  Giuliano, 
in  building  castles  in  the  air,  and  in  applying  a  policy  of 
malicious  injustice  will  serve  his  country  very  poorly. 

"If  Epirus  is  detached  from  Greece,  Europe  will  have 
created  another  Alsace-Lorraine.  Greece  can  never  find 
rest  until  the  entire  Province  of  most  Hellenic  Epirus  be- 
comes a  part  of  the  Greek  State." 

Mr.  Arnold  Toynbee  in  his  Greek  Policies  Since  1882, 
page  28,  writes: 

8S 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  89 

"The  Greek  troops  arrived  just  in  time,  for  the  Hellen- 
ism of  the  Epirotes  has  been  very  ten-ibly  proved  by 
murderous  attacks  from  their  Moslem  neighbors  on  the 
north.  These  last,  owing  to  their  jNloslem  faith,  have 
always  been  with  the  Turks,  the  ruling  class.  They  are 
superior  to  the  Christians  by  the  possession  of  arms,  which 
under  the  Ottoman  regime,  were  the  monopoly  of  the 
^Moslem.  Now,  however,  the  oppression  seems  to  be  over- 
past, and  the  Greek  occupation  to  be  a  harbinger  of 
security  for  the  future." 

Unluckily,  Epinis  teas  of  interest  to  others  besides  its 
own  inliabitants ;  it  occupies  an  important  geographical 
position  facing  the  extreme  heel  of  Italy  just  below  the 
narrowest  point  in  the  neck  of  the  Adriatic,  and  the  Italian 
Government  insisted  that  the  country  should  be  included 
in  the  new  Autonomous  Albanian  Principality,  which  the 
Powers  had  reserved  the  right  to  delimit  by  a  provi- 
sion in  the  Treaty  of  London.  Italy  gave  two  reasons  for 
her  demand. 

First,  she  declared  it  incompatible  with  her  own  vital 
interests  that  both  shores  of  the  strait  between  Corfu  and 
the  mainland  should  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  same  power, 
because  the  combination  of  both  coasts  and  the  channel 
between  them  offered  a  site  for  a  naval  base  that  could 
dominate  the  mouth  of  the  Adriatic. 

Secondly,  she  maintained  that  the  native  Albanian 
speech  of  the  Epirotes  proved  their  Albanian  nationality, 
and  that  it  was  unjust  to  the  new  Albanian  nation  to  de- 
prive it  of  its  most  prosperous  and  civilised  section. 

Neither  argument,  however,  is  cogent;  the  first'  could 
be  met  by  the  neutralization  of  the  Corfu  straits,  under 
such  a  guarantee  as  we  have  proposed  for  Mitylene  and 
Chios ;  it  is  also  considerably  weakened  by  the  fact  that  the 
really  commanding  position  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Adriatic's  mouth  is  not  the  Corfu  Channel  outside  the 
Narrows,  but  the  magnificent  harbor  of  Avlona,  just 
within  them,  a  port  of  jNIoslem  population  to  which  the 


90  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Epirotes  have  never  laid  claim  and  which  would  therefore, 
in  any  case  fall  within  the  Albanian  frontier. 

The  second  argument  is  almost  ludicrous:  the  destiny 
of  Epirus  is  not  primarily  the  concern  of  the  Albanians, 
or  for  that  matter,  of  the  Greeks,  but  of  the  Epirotes  them- 
selves and  it  is  hard  to  see  how  nationality  can  be  defined 
except  in  terms  of  their  own  conscious  and  expressed  de- 
sire, for  a  nation  is  simply  a  group  of  men  desirous  of 
organizing  themselves  for  certain  purposes,  and  can  be 
brought  into  existence  not  by  any  specific  external  factors, 
but  soleh'  by  the  inward  will  of  its  members. 

It  was  a  travesty  of  justice  to  put  the  Epirotes  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Moslem  majority,  which  had  been  massacring 
them  the  year  before,  on  the  ground  that  they  happened 
to  speak  the  same  language. 

Mr.  Andre  Cheradame  in  his  Doiize  Ans  de  Propagande 
en  Faveur  des  Pays  Ballxaniques,  writes: 

"In  Epirus  Greece  is  confronted  by  Italy.  The  differ- 
ences are  m-eat  between  the  Govermnents  of  Athens  and 
Rome.  The  Greeks,  consequently,  are  very  much  stirred 
up  by  the  project  of  Italian  intervention  in  the  south  of 
Albania-  and  even  in  the  region  to  which  they  lay  claim. 

"And  they  are  very  much  in  the  right,  and  declare  that 
they  have  liberated  Epirus  with  much  blood,  and  that 
they  mean  to  stay  there,  and  that  if  Italy  should  decide 
to  chase  them  out  of  Epirus,  they  would  resist.  'More- 
over,' they  declare,  'the  part  of  Epirus  to  which  we  lay 
claim  is  inhabited  by  a  very  large  majority  of  Greeks. 
Let  there  be  a  plebiscite,  and  it  will  be  seen.' 

"The  numerous  schools,  churches,  monasteries  that  the 
Greeks  have  in  Epirus  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  Greeks 
run  no  risk  in  proposing  a  consultation  of  the  population, 
and  on  this  point  the  Italian  sophisms  are  unjustifiable." 

And  in  pages  228  and  following  of  the  same  work  of 
Mr.  Andre  Cheradame,  we  read : 

"What  are  the  frontiers  of  Albania?     It  is  difficult  to 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  91 

tell,  for  the  expression  'Albania'  designates  the  most  vague 
country  in  Europe. 

"In  reality,  Albania  consists  of  frontier  regions  so  in- 
definite, and  inhabited  by  races  so  varied  (Albanians, 
Serbs,  Greeks)  that  neither  Albanians,  Serbs  nor  Greeks 
are  in  any  way  of  one  accord  as  to  the  exact  limits  of 
Albania. 

"Thus  the  Albanians  pretend  that  Uskiib  is  Albanian, 
an  assertion  which  is  without  the  slightest  foundation. 
As  to  the  plain  of  Kossovo,  which  was  inhabited  in  the 
Middle  Ages  by  Serbians,  and  was  the  centre  of  the 
Serbian  Empire,  the  Albanians  have  established  themselves 
by  force,  persecuting  and  exterminating  the  Serbian 
population,  which  up  to  the  first  Balkan  war  lived  under 
the  terror  of  the  Albanian  oppression. 

"Austria-Hungary,  having  been  frustrated  by  the 
Balkan  Alliance  in  her  plans  to  descend  upon  Salonica, 
and  wishing  to  punish  Serbia  for  her  unwillingness  to  be 
subjugated  by  Austria,  raised  the  problem  of  a  ^Nlagna 
Albania  to  extend  from  Scutari  to  Jannina,  and  from  the 
Adriatic  to  Uskub. 

"If  this  solution  is  adopted,  which  is  the  solution  the 
most  favorable  to  the  Austro-Germans,  the  following  re- 
sults would  ensue : 

"Serbia  would  be  forever  shut  from  access  to  the 
Adriatic.  The  Albanians  would  be  allowed  to  profit  by 
their  wholesale  murders  and  persecutions  and,  by  the  dis- 
location of  the  Serbians  and  the  Greeks  under  the  Turkish 
rule,  Serbia  and  Greece  would  be  despoiled  of  lands  be- 
longing to  them  by  right  of  nationality  and  of  untold 
sacrifices  in  blood  in  1912. 

"A  large  Albania  established  on  the  Serbian  and  Greek 
territories  is  not  only  against  the  principles  of  nationality 
but  also  against  the  interests  of  the  Allies  both  in  this  war 
and  in  the  future. 

"The  Albanians,  under  the  Turkish  regime,  as  corre-^ 


92  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

ligionists  of  the  latter,  enjoyed  under  the  Sultans  the 
privilege  of  oppressing,  of  j^ersecuting,  and  dislodging  the 
Serbians  from  Uskiib  and  Kossovo  and  the  Greeks  from 
N.  Epirus.  Out  of  1,000,000  Albanians  only  200,000  are 
Christians,  800,000  are  ^lussulmans,  and  in  sympathy 
^vith  Turkey  and  her  allies.  The  Albanians  who  were 
forced  out  of  Uskub  and  Kossovo  by  the  liberating  armies 
of  Prince  Alexander,  and  from  Korytsa  by  the  former 
Greek  Crown  Prince  Constantine,  have  looked  up  to 
Bulgaria  and  to  Austria.  Should  a  large  Albania  be 
created  at  tlie  exj^ense  of  Serbia  and  Greece,  we  should 
not  entertain  any  doubts  as  to  the  attitude  of  new  Albania 
towards  our  Balkan  Allies,  Serbia  and  Greece.  Albania 
instigated  by  Austria-Germany  will  connive  with  Bulgaria 
and  Turkey  to  attack  Serbia  and  Greece.  With  a  strong- 
Albania  in  the  back  of  Serbia  and  of  Greece,  with  a  Ger- 
manized Bulgaria  and  Turkey,  Prussia's  road  to  the  east 
will  be  always  open  and  unimpeded. 

"The  principle  of  nationality  demands  that  N.  Epirus 
be  allowed  to  join  itself  to  Greece.  In  1914  when  the  con- 
gress of  London  decided  to  include  in  Albania  a  large  por- 
tion of  N.  Epirus,  the  entire  population  of  N.  Epirus  rose 
up  and  fought  bravely  against  their  subjection  to  the 
barbarous  and  savage  Albanian  domination. 

"Humanity  also  dictates  that  no  civilized  population 
should  be  forced  to  live  under  the  ruthless  hand  of  a  savage 
people.  The  Greek  people  of  N.  Epirus,  who  have  con- 
tributed more  than  any  other  portion  of  the  Greek  father- 
land to  the  regeneration  of  Greece,  w^ho  have  given  to 
Greece  its  greatest  generals,  benefactors,  and  educators, 
N.  Epirus,  which  is  the  home  of  Greek  schools  and  Greek 
churches,  cannot  be  subjected  to  the  savage  rule  of  the 
tribes  of  Ghegs  and  Tores,  who  for  500  years  have  done 
nothing  else  but  oppress,  persecute  and  despoil  the  peace- 
ful and  progressive  Greek  population  of  N.  Epirus." 

Having  cited  the  facts  about  the  tragedy  of  TsTorthern 
Epirus  as  those  facts  are  put  by  eminent  writers,  we  can 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  93 

now  understand  -why  the  Epirotic  question  is  so  difficult 
and  why  we  invoke  the  justice  of  the  English  speaking 
nations,  America  and  Great  Britain,  to  give  us  freedom, 
and  to  allow  us  to  pursue  the  dictates  of  our  conscience. 

We  have  reached  a  point  where  we  understand  that  the 
Epirotes  have  in  reality  no  quarrel  with  the  Albanians  as 
to  the  Epirotic  question  but  with  the  Great  Power  of  the 
Adriatic,  Italy. 

Italy  and  Austria,  as  Mr.  Rene  Puaux  explains,  decided 
to  make  a  greater  Albania  in  the  hope  of  dividing  it  be- 
tween them  later.  In  the  Literary  Digest  of  jNIay  6, 1915, 
we  read  the  following  quotation  from  L'ltalie,  published 
in  Rome.  In  this  quotation  Peter  Kekaviqui,  Secretary 
of  the  Marshalship  at  the  Court  of  Wied,  is  said  to  have 
written:  "Albania,  in  fact,  being  the  creation  of  the 
Triple  Alliance-  it  is  on  the  fate  of  the  Austro-Hungarian 
and  German  Armies  that  its  future  political  existence  de- 
pends. Not  only  the  head  of  the  State,  but  every 
Albanian  citizen,  without  distinction  of  religion,  should 
feel  compelled  to  fight  on  their  side,  in  recognition  of  the 
liberators  of  Albania." 

Mr.  Reginald  Wyon  wrote  in  the  Blackwood's  Magazine 
of  April,  1903: 

"It  is  to  be  remembered  that  a  ceaseless  agitation  is  in 
progress,  chiefly  on  the  part  of  Austria,  (through  the 
priests)  and  of  Italy  (by  means  of  the  schools)  to  gain  in- 
fluence. 

"The  time  will  come  when  at  least  two  of  the  great 
Powers  will  have  to  seriously  consider  the  Albanian  prob- 
lem, who  are  both  interested  in  its  solution." 

The  Literary  Digest  of  February  21,  1914,  said: 

"Austria-Hungary  and  Italy  may  regard  the  new  King- 
dom as  a  chess-board  for  playing  their  game  of  rivalry  in 
the  Adriatic." 

In  the  Spectator  of  ]May  23,  1914,  we  read: 

"Perhaps,  the  chief  obstacle  to  a  working  arrangement 
on  the  Epirote  lines  is  that  Italy  does  not  approve  of  it, 


94;  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

and  so  we  come  back  to  the  fact  that  Italy's  presence  in 
Albania  is  a  very  significant  thing.  It  is  useless  to 
prophesy.  There  is  a  mess;  Austria  and  Italy  may  try  to 
use  that  mess  to  their  own  profit." 

What  was  prophesied  by  the  Spectator  and  by  Mr. 
Reginald  Wyon  came  true.  Italy  which  had  been  lib- 
erated by  France  in  1856;  Italy  which  was  still  suffering 
at  the  hands  of  Austrian  despotism  in  the  irredentist 
Italian  lands,  the  Italy  of  Cavour,  Mazzini  and  Garibaldi, 
had  lost  her  beautiful  traditions  during  her  unnatural 
association  with  the  Germanic  Empires.  Italy  the  liberal, 
and  pacific,  had  grown  to  be  Italy  the  ultra-imperialistic, 
the  ultra-despotic. 

Greece  had,  since  its  independence,  looked  upon  Italy 
w^ith  compassion,  while  Austria  ruled  the  plains  of  the 
Piave.  Greek  Epirotes  by  the  thousands  rushed  across 
the  Adriatic  in  1856,  to  fight-  and  to  shed  their  blood  that 
Italy  might  become  free.  But  in  1911,  the  whole  Greek 
race  was  shocked  at  the  discovery  that  Italy  the  beautiful, 
the  Italy  of  Garibaldi,  had  already  become  a  nation  of  the 
past. 

In  1911,  Italy  occupied  the  twelve  Greek  Islands  known 
as  the  Dodecanese.  The  Greek  population  received  the 
Italians  with  enthusiasm.  General  D'Ameglio  promised 
the  people  freedom.  And  when  the  Greeks  asked  that 
they  be  allowed  to  be  united  to  Greece  now  that  Italy  had 
driven  the  Turks  from  their  homes.  General  D'Ameglio 
became  infuriated.  The  Dodecanese  ever  since  has  been 
subjected  to  a  tyranny  the  like  of  wliich  the  Greek  race 
has  never  witnessed  even  in  the  blackest  day  of  JNIoham- 
medan  domination.  The  Greek  schools  have  been  closed, 
the  Greek  clergy  have  been  under  trying  persecutions ;  the 
spiritual  leaders  of  the  people  are  either  in  prison  or  in 
exile,  for  the  crime  of  refusing  to  embrace  Italian  nation- 
ality and  for  desiring  union  with  Greece. 

When  in  1912,  the  Greek  world  learned  of  the  decision 
of  Italy  to  mix  up  in  the  Balkan  affairs,  a  pained  outcry 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  95 

arose.  They  knew  that  Italy,  not  satisfied  with  the  Greek 
Islands  in  the  Aegean,  was  coveting  the  Greek  province 
of  Northern  Epirus,  that  she  might  continually  have  a 
chance  fOr  further  interference  and  expansion  in  the 
Balkans. 

And  the  Greek  fears  came  true.  Immediately  after  the 
fall  of  Jannina,  Italy  made  it  evident  that  she  would  not 
permit  Greece  to  occupy  permanently  the  Greek  Province 
of  Northern  Epirus. 

jNIr.  Venizelos  would  have  risked  a  war  with  Italy  had 
not  the  Balkan  Alliance  been  undermined  by  the  associated 
intrigues  of  Germany,  Austria  and  Italy;  with  Bulgaria 
threatening  war,  with  Austria  mobilized,  and  with  Turkey 
preparing  to  attack  her  victors,  Mr.  Venizelos  reluctantly 
yielded  to  the  cruel  demands  of  the  Italian  government. 

We  have  told  the  story  of  the  treaty  of  London,  accord- 
ing to  which  nearly  two-thirds  of  Epirus  was  given  up 
to  Albania.  We  have  related  the  revolt  of  the  Northern 
Epirotes  and  their  successful  repulse  of  the  Albanian 
forces.  We  have  touched  upon  the  Conference  of 
Corfu'  whereby  the  Northern  Epirotes  were  recognized 
by  all  the  Powers,  including  Italy,  as  Greek-Epirotes,  and 
their  country  as  Epirus.  We  have  seen  that  the  Protocol 
of  Corfu  made  N.  Epirus  autonomous,  with  Greek  as  the 
official  language  of  the  Autonomous  State.  We  have  also 
seen  that  immediately  after  the  Conference  of  Corfu, 
Wied  was  driven  out,  that  anarchy  and  civil  wars  broke 
out  throughout  Albania,  and  that  the  jNIoslem  Albanian 
tribes,  indifferent  to  the  arguments  of  Italy  about  the 
brotherhood  of  Epirotes  and  Albanians,  rushed  into 
Northern  Epirus,  and  began  to  plunder,  burn  and 
massacre  the  Christian  Epirotes. 

We  have  mentioned  how  the  Powers,  including  Italy, 
recognized  the  danger  to  the  Epirotes  from  the  wild 
JNIohammedan  tribes,  and  permitted  the  Greek  forces  to 
reoccupy  Epirus,  and  we  have  related  how  after  Mr. 
Venizelos  left  Greece  in  1916,  Italy  occupied  Epirus. 


96  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

The  occupation  of  Northern  Epiriis  by  Italy  in  1916 
was  a  repetition  of  the  occupation  of  the  Dodecanese  in 
1911.  The  only  remarkable  difference  was  the  more  in- 
tense spirit  of  hatred  towards  the  Greek  element,  and  the 
more  systematic  persecution'  and  extinction  of  the  Greek 
element  of  Northern  Epirus. 

We  are  aware  that  these  statements  seem  so  incredible 
to  American  and  British  readers  that  the  risk  is  incurred 
of  being  considered  either  a  maniac  or  an  irresponsible 
lunatic.  For  no  American  or  Britisher  can  ever  imagine 
that  Italy,  which  is  today  struggling  for  the  liberation  of 
her  oppressed  children,  has  launched  out  upon  a  tyrannical 
policy  of  suppressing  the  sentiment  of  the  Northern 
Epirotes  and  of  forcing  them  by  violence  to  abjure  their 
allegiance  to  their  mother-countiy,  Greece.  Unfortun- 
ately for  the  Northern  Epirotes  and  for  the  fair  name  of 
the  cause  of  our  Allies,  Italy,  even  at  this  hour,  has  not 
lifted  the  cross  from  the  backs  of  the  Northern  Epirotes. 

The  Greek  schools  in  Epirus  which  as  we  have  seen 
had  been  the  first  Greek  schools  instituted  after  the  regen- 
eration of  Greece,  the  Greek  Church  which  has  kept  the 
fire  of  Hellenism  burning  in  Northern  Epirus,  have  been 
subjected  to  a  most  barbarous  persecution. 

Under  the  eyes,  and  by  the  approval  of  the  Italian 
authorities,  Albanian  brigands  have  seized  the  leaders  of 
the  Northern  Epirotes  and  have  either  killed  them,  or 
thrown  them  in  prisons.  The  Greek  teachers  have  been 
supplanted  by  Italians  and  Albanians.  No  Epirote  can 
visit  Greek  Epirus. 

The  Northern  Epirotes  asked  to  be  allowed  to  join  the 
Greeks  in  fighting  the  Austro-Bulgars  in  JNIacedonia,  and 
they  were  flatly  refused. 

The  documents  we  cite  here  below  are  only  a  few  among 
the  hundreds  which  reach  us  daily,  relating  to  the  harrow- 
ing cruelties  committed  by  the  Albanians  under  the 
auspices  of  Italy.  And  we  make  them  public  not  with 
any  intention  of  casting  aspersion  on  one  of  our  Allies, 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  9T 

but  in  order  to  arouse  the  pity,  and  the  sense  of  fair-play 
of  America  and  England  that  they  may  take  prompt  steps 
and  request  Italy  to  put  an  end  to  a  policy  which  as  Mr. 
Rene  Puaux  writes  will  result  in  nothing  else  but  in 
compromising  the  fair  name  of  Italy  and  the  noble 
struggle  for  which  the  democracies  of  the  world  are  today 
shedding  the  blood  of  their  youths. 


CHAPTER  XII 
ALBANIAN  ATROCITIES 

The  following  lists  of  atrocities  and  oppressions  we 
have  compiled  from  the  daily  Greek  papers,  in  which  rela- 
tives of  the  sufferers  publish  letters  arriving  from  Epirus. 

^  Norwich,  Conn.  April  14,  1918. 

Mr.  Soteriades'  letter: 
(extract) 
My  dear  Stephanos: 

I  wish  to  announce  to  you  that  my  cousin,  Gregorios 
Soteriades  (brother  of  the  representative)  was  thrown  into 
jail,  in  Argyrocastron,  by  the  Italian  Government,  and 
died  from  maltreatment.  Elias  Soteriades. 

From  a  letter  sent  to  Mr.  Savas  Papadopoulos  by  his 
people  living  in  Northern  Epirus : 

In  Trikoupi,  they  killed  Mr.  Take  Ntete. 

In  the  district  of  Argyrocastron  the  Albanians  are  rob- 
bing and  killing  the  Greek  population. 

In  upper  Lambovon,  they  killed  four  Greeks. 

In  Vlacho-Gorantzi,  they  killed  six  Greeks. 

In  the  district  of  Zagori,  they  killed  ten  Greeks,  and 
many  others  in  other  villages. 

There  are  only  Italian  and  Albanian  schools  in  these 
districts  and  no  Greek  schools  or  Greek  priests  are  allowed. 

S 

Mr.  Panagiotis  Ditsianis'  letter  reads  in  part  as  follows : 

Mr.  Cassavetes :  Southbridge,  Mass. 

.  .  .  From  a  letter  from  Worcester,  Mass.,  we  learn 
the  kiUing  of  five  persons  in  Lower-Gorantzi  (district  of 

98 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  99 

Argyrocastron)  in  the  most  distressing  way.  The  Alban- 
ians put  out  the  eyes  of  their  victims,  then  they  cut  their 
hands,  legs  and  noses  and  left  them  half -dead.  When  this 
terrible  fact  was  referred  to  the  Italian  Government,  the 
officials  said  to  the  peasants:  'As  long  as  you  like  to  be 
united  with  Greece  it  is  only  suffering  that  you  have  to 
expect."  A  letter  relating  the  above  fact  is  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Mr.  Elias  Liolios,  Worcester,  Mass. 

4 

A  letter  from  Mr.  N.  Contes  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

.  .  .  The  Italian  officials,  besides  the  fact  that  they  allow 
the  Turco-Albanians  to  commit  all  kinds  of  atrocities 
among  the  Greek  population  even  under  their  very  eyes, 
have  dismissed  all  the  Greek  teachers  from  the  town 
Sopiki  (district  of  Pogoni)  and  put  Italian  teachers  in 
their  places.  .  .  . 

N.  Contes. 
5 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Eustathios  Gegas  reads  as  follows : 

Worcester,  Mass.,  April  21,.  1918. 
To  the  President  of  the  Pan-Epirotic  Union,  etc. 

All  the  letters  that  come  from  our  distressed  Northern 
JEpirus  depict  the  situation  in  the  darkest  colors. 

The  officials  of  the  Italian  Government  seized  many 
leaders  in  the  community  of  Premeti,  all  honest  men  and 
with  dependents.  We  do  not  know  what  their  fate  has 
been  so  far.  Among  them  there  are  two  merchants,  two 
real  estate  men,  one  physician,  one  professor,  one  priest, 
and  many  others.  .  .  . 

Eustathios  GeGxVS. 
6 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Spyridon  Batsaris  reads  as  follows : 

Waterville,  Me.,  Aug.  7,  1918. 
My  dear  President  of  the  Pan-Epirotic  Union: 

.  .  .  All  letters  that  are  received  here  from  our  beloved 


100        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

country  are  cut  down  by  the  Italian  censor.  Our  people 
cannot  write  anything,  not  even  about  the  lack  of  food,  on 
account  of  the  Italian  fear.  It  is  too  bad  that  we  enjoyed 
liberty  only  for  a  little  while.  Italian  slavery  is  worse  than 
Turkish  ever  was.  .  .  . 

Spyridon  Batsaris. 

7 

From  a  letter  of  jSIr.  Athanasios  Gegas: 

Worcester,  Mass.,  June  10,  1918. 
]My  dear  Secretary  of  the  Pan-Epirotic  Union: 

I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  my  people  of  the 
village  "Glina"  (district  of  Argyrocastron)  and  they  in- 
formed me  that  Albanians  have  seized  six  Greeks  from  the 
village  Upper-Gorantzi,  and  killed  them.  These  Greeks 
were  returning  home  from  their  farms.  When  this  fact 
was  reported  to  the  Italian  officials,  they  got  the  follow- 
ing answer:  "As  long  as  you  want  to  be  united  with 
Greece,  you  are  to  suffer  from  the  Albanians.  .  .  ." 

Athanasios  Gegas. 

8 

Extract  from  Mr.  Pantos'  letter : 

In  a  letter  that  I  have  received  from  my  town  I  found 
a  slip  of  printed  paper  put  in  by  the  Italian  censor  advis- 
ing me  to  write  on  the  envelope,  Droviani,  Albania,  instead 
of  Droviani,  Epirus.  I  cannot  see  the  justice  of  the 
Italian  government  when  she  wants  to  liberate  the  Italians 
of  Trieste  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  hand  enslaves 
the  Epirotes,  etc. 

K.  Pantos. 

9 

From  a  letter  of  Messrs.  Vasilios  Vallevos  &  Constantino 
Vassos : 

My  dear  Mr.  Cassavetes: 

A  large  Albanian  band  seized  the  following  peasants^ 
from  the  village  of  Vlacho-Gorantzi : 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFEllE>:CE  101 

1.  John  Bitsios,  70  years  old  and  lame; 

2.  Basil  Bitsios,  5; 

3.  Charalambos  K.  Bessios; 

4.  Evangelos  Kentros ; 

5.  Constantine  Papanastassios; 

6.  Demeter  Telios. 

All  of  them  suffered  terribly  at  the  hands  of  the  Alban- 
ian brigands  and  finally  died,  etc.  .  .  . 

Vasilios  Vallevos, 
Constantine  Vassos. 
10 

A  letter  from  Mr.  K.  A.  Pantos  reads  in  part  as  fol- 
lows: 

My  dear  Mr.  Cassavetes: 

...  A  friend  of  mine  and  member  of  our  association 
has  adopted  a  Mohammedan  girl  and  brought  her  up  in  the 
Christian  religion.  Now  "Vatra"  the  Albanian  associa- 
tion, whose  president  is  a  Christian  priest,  wants  to  take 
her  away  from  him  and  give  her  back  to  the  IMohammedan- 
Albanians.     The  girl  is  unwilling  to  go.  .  .  . 

K.  A.  Pantos. 

11 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Stephan  Gionis  is  in  part  as  follows : 

Milwaukee,  Wis.  Mar.  9,  1918. 

Dear  Friend: 

.  .  .  On  account  of  the  murder  of  Mr.  Papastathis  ^  the 
officials  seized  seven  persons  (the  list  of  names  follows), 
and  sent  them  in  irons  to  Argyrocastron  and  Valona.  .  .  . 

Stephen  Gionis. 

12 

From  a  letter  from  Santi  Quaranta  the  following  para- 

1  This  Papastathis  came  to  Worcester  from  Austria  and  remained  there 
as  a  priest  of  the  Albanians.  He  left  Worcester  a  few  years  ago  threatening 
to  kill  all  Greeks  that  he  could  in  Northern  Epirus.  He  was  killed  by  the 
Albanians  of  the  opposite  party. 


102        THK  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

graph  becomes  interesting,  in  as  much  as  the  Italian  censor 
erased  four  hues. 

Santi  Quaranta  April  12,  1918. 
Dear  brother  Sotii  i : 

.  .  .  On  the  2Gth  of  the  past  month  Natsios  .  .  .  (here 
the  Italian  censor  interrupted  the  narration)  and  he  lived 
up  to  the  9th  of  this  month  and  then  died.  .  .  . 

Andreas. 

Note — It  is  obvious  that  the  Italian  censor  would  not 
allow  any  information  as  to  what  this  man  suffered  before 
he  died,  to  leak  out. 

13 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  D.  Lavares: 

Dear  Sir: 

I  consider  it  my  duty  to  let  you  know  that  our  country- 
men are  suffering  in  North  Epirus  from  the  Albanians 
and  the  local  authorities  as  well. 

Letters  that  we  have  received  from  Sopiki  (Pogoni) 
and  from  Vostina  report  that  an  Albanian  band  took 
prisoners  three  men,  Char.  Matsoulras,  Thomas  Kogionas 
and  Char.  Volios  and  after  having  whipped  them  burned 
them  with  boiling  oil.     Their  fate  is  unknown. 

Also  an  Italian  detachment  arrested  JNIr.  P.  INIauro- 
mates  and  seven  women  and  put  them  in  dungeons  in 
Argyrocastro.  Nothing  is  known  as  to  the  cause  of  this 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Italian  officials.     Etc.,  etc. 

(Signed)   D.  Lavares. 

14 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Vasilios  Styliaras: 

Faviana,  Italy,  Feb.  11,  1918. 
My  dear  Friends,  Pauteli  Tsini  and  Theodore  Notti : 

I  have  been  here,  as  an  exile,  eight  months.  I  was  in 
prison  in  Valona  for  five  months  and  now  I  am  here  an 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  103^^ 

exile  on  an  island  with  no  friends,  and  no  countrymen 
around. 

I  beg  you  to  send  me  some  money  because  I  am  in  a 
great  need, — etc. 

(Signed)   Vasilios  Styliaras. 

15 

Extract  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Vasilios  K.  Lenas: 

Dear  Sir: 

A  little  distance  away  from  the  village  of  Upper  Lam- 
bovon  (district  of  Argyrocastro )  Albanian  brigands  car- 
ried away  the  shepherds,  Spyridon  Memos,  and  his  son 
Constantine  and  after  receiving  four  thousand  francs  as 
ransom,  set  them  free.  This  happened  in  July,  1917.  In 
November  of  the  same  year  another  band  of  Albanian 
brigands  killed  JNIichael  Gravos  while  he  was  working  on 
his  farm.  In  February  1918,  Albanian  brigands  carried 
away  Michael  Louzes,  a  twelve  year  old  boy  and  after  re- 
ceiving 8,000  francs  as  ransom  set  the  boy  free.  These 
Albanian  brigands  carried  away  many  other  people  and 
after  receiving  heavy  ransoms  they  left  them  free. 

(Signed)     V.  K.  Lenas. 

16 

Jannina,  May  25, 1918. 
My  dear  Nicholas : 

The  Greek  authorities  have  gone  as  far  as  Delirnakion 
since  last  October,  and  even  as  far  as  Kossovitza  and  Vos- 
tina.  From  there  north  all  the  places  are  occupied  by  the 
Italians. 

Now,  you  can  imagine  how  we  get  along  in  our  villages. 
The  Abanians  are  supported  by  the  Italians  and  do  as  they 
please.  They  are  now  wreaking  their  vengeance  on  the 
Christians.  The  Moslem  Albanians  have  grown  great 
and  powerful.  Bazes  has  again  returned  to  our  village, 
and  has  begun  his  old  game — burning  our  poor  huts. 

We  are  obliged  to  suffer  everything,  and  to  wait  for  the 


104        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

arrival  of  the  Greek  army.  I  tell  you  now  the  Christians 
with  joy  and  hopeVait  for  the  arrival  of  the  Greek  troops, 
indeed  with  more  joy  than  in  1913,  when  they  were  to  be 
freed  from  the  Turks.  So  much  have  they  been  op- 
pressed. 

In  vain  do  we  wait  daily  for  the  Greek  forces  to  march 
into  Northern  Epirus.  They  are  ordered  to  go  to 
Saloniki. 

In  all  of  North  Epirus  the  Greek  teachers  have  been 
dismissed  by  the  Italians,  and  the  Fratelli  work  as  if  they 
never  intended  to  leave  the  place. 

Italian  and  Albanian  teachers  were  sent  to  replace  the 
Greeks.  But  the  Albanian  teachers  have  everywhere  been 
driven  out  of  the  villages,  and  no  parent  will  send  his  child 
to  learn  Albanian. 

Spyros. 

17 

A  report  sent  by  Basil,  the  Metropolitan  Bishop  of  Dry- 
inopolis  and  Argj^rocastron,  to  Mr.  B.  Venizelos. 

July  18,  1917. 

I  have  the  honor  to  submit  to  your  Excellency  the  fol- 
lowing: 

During  the  ministry  of  your  Excellency's  predecessors 
I  submitted  again  and  again  reports  with  accurate  details 
concerning  violations,  murders,  arson,  and  expatriation  on 
the  part  of  the  Albanians,  assisted  in  a  very  large  measure 
by  the  local  Italian  military  authorities  both  in  North  and 
South  Epirus. 

But  the  former  ministry  of  Greece  informed  me  that 
it  could  not  then  approach  the  Italian  Embassy  at  Athens 
owing  to  tlie  attitude  of  the  Allies  toward  the  Government 
of  King  Constantine. 

Thus  nothing  was  done  by  your  predecessor's  ministry 
to  secure  tolerable  conditions  of  life  for  the  innocent  victims 
of  Epirus.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  unfortunate  Greek 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  105 

people  have  been  deprived  even  of  their  spiritual  leader- 
ship, by  my  violent  expulsion  on  the  22nd  of  September, 
1916,  from  Argyrocastron,  escorted  by  an  Italian  guard 
of  fifteen  soldiers  with  bayonets  fixed,  as  if  I  were  a 
criminal.  In  fact,  I  was  told  that  I  was  pernicious  to 
public  safety  because  I  protested  against  the  occupation 
of  our  towns  by  Italian  troops  who  came  to  promote  the 
Albanification  of  North  Epirus. 

I  do  merely  repeat  now  what  in  previous  reports  I  have 
communicated  to  your  Excellency's  predecessors.  The 
atrocities  committed  by  the  Albanians  have  been  protested 
against  by  the  Deputies  from  North  Epirus,  and  by  the 
numerous  Epirotic  Societies  in  the  Kingdom  of  Greece. 

In  May  1917,  the  Italian  Government,  in  order  to  please 
a  small  minority  of  Albanians,  declared  Albania  inde^Jcnd- 
ent  and  under  her  protection. 

I  beg  your  Excellency  to  take  drastic  measures  for  the 
security  of  the  lives  and  properties  of  the  suffering 
Epirotes,  and  for  the  return  of  those  who  have  been  vio- 
lently expatriated  to  various  unhealthy  places,  and  more 
especially  to  a  deserted  island  near  Cyrenica,  on  the  ground 
that  they  refused  to  raise  the  Albanian  flag  when  Italy, 
having  driven  away  the  Greek  authorities,  established  an 
arbitrary  Albanophile  regime. 

Hoping  that  your  Excellency  will  be  so  good  as  to  take 
salutary  measures  in  behalf  of  the  steadily  perishing  Greek 
population  of  North  Epirus,  I  pray  incessantly  for  your 
Excellency's  health  and  happiness. 

Bishop  of  Dryinopolis  and  Argyrocastron. 

Athens,  July  18,  1917. 

September,  1916. 

a)  The  Bishop  of  Dryinopolis  and  the  trustee  of  the 
jSIetropolis  Porphyrios  Bumbos  were  violently  expelled. 

b)  The  Monastery  of  IVIelana  was  forcibly  occupied  by 
Italian  troops  and  surrendered  to  ^loslem  Albanians  who 
transformed  it  into  a  take  or  Turkish  Mosque. 


106        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

October,  1916. 

c)  Ninety  leaders  of  the  Greek  community  in  the  town 
of  Drymades,  of  Himara  were  expelled  and  transported  to 
a  little  desert  island  near  Tripoli,  in  Africa,  and  there 
are  strictly  secluded.  Other  victims  have  been  thrown  into 
the  dungeons  of  Argyrocastron,  accused  of  having  refused 
to  raise  the  Albanian  flag.  Such  are  the  brothers  Stavros 
and  Anastasios  Tsakas  and  others.  .  .  . 

November,  1916. 

d)  In  the  villages  Trivouki,  Kato  Lamboven,  and  Hou- 
doukouki  the  Albanians  have  killed  twelve  Greeks. 

e)  Three  Moslem  Albanians  of  Linbehovo  with  four 
Carabinieri  attacked  the  Greek  teacher  Stephanos  Katza- 
lides  in  the  village  Vrahosorourtzi,  after  having  forced  the 
door  of  the  Greek  school. 

December,  1916. 

f )  Thirty-two  Christians  from  Drorsani,  for  the  lack  of 
postal  service,  sent  letters  to  the  Epirotic  city  of  Jannina 
by  messengers,  and  were  immediately  cast  into  dungeons. 

g)  Near  Kato  Lamboven  Christ  Kentron  Totes  was 
killed. 

h)  At  Palaeocastron  the  priest  Gregory  was  assassi- 
nated. 

i)  In  Tsagioupi  an  elderly  Greek  mother  and  her  son 
were  murdered. 

j)  Near  the  village  Lecles  two  young  men  of  Greek 
parentage  were  murdered. 

k)  In  the  district  of  Delirno,  of  Liountza,  of  Zagoria,  on 
pretext  of  disarming  the  Greek  population,  very  many 
innocent  Greeks  were  cast  into  dungeons,  others  were 
beaten  to  death,  some  were  expatriated,  and  the  entire 
Greek  population  was  terrorized. 

1)  Over  2,000  Moslem  Albanians  enlisted  as  volunteers, 
and  under  Italian  uniform  were  sent  to  different  parts  of 
North  Epirus  to  terrorize  the  Greek  population  to  become 
Albanians. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  107 

January,  1917. 

m)  Italian  Carabinieri  desecrated  the  Holy  of  Holies  of 
the  Greek  Orthodox  Churches  in  the  villages  of  Houmen- 
itza  and  Palaeocastron. 

February,  1917. 

n)  In  all  the  Greek  villages,  Italian  schools  were  first 
opened,  and  now  IVIoslem  priests  (Hodjas)  are  imposed 
upon  the  Christian  Greeks,  to  teach  the  children  the 
Albanian  language.  Very  numerous  ^loslem  Albanian 
families  take  the  place  of  the  persecuted  Greek  families, 
in  order  that  the  world  may  be  confronted  by  an  accom- 
plished fact  when  peace  is  concluded  and  North  Epirus 
may  be  assigned  to  Albania  on  the  ground  that  it  is  in- 
habited by  Albanians. 

o)  In  the  village  of  Senitza  of  the  district  of  Delirno  a 
certain  Mohammedan  Albanian,  Messia  Ghiontas,  with  a 
band  of  thirty  robbers  stole  away  360  head  of  cattle,  and 
killed  Michael  Petrou,  and  carried  away  with  them  to  the 
prisons  of  Dehrno  a  certain  Christian  Greek,  D.  Anas- 
tasopoulos  where  he  died  of  exposure. 

March  and  April,  1917. 

p)  In  the  village  of  Costari  the  Moslem  Albanians  Ve- 
hip  Gotris  and  Tzape  with  eleven  Albanian  bandits  de- 
stroyed the  house  of  N.  Cotes  and  seized  Lambis  Tsizis 
whom  they  bound  to  a  tree,  and  killed  by  mutilating  his 
body. 

q)  In  a  town  in  Filiates,  eighteen  community  leaders  of 
Greek  race  were  seized,  and  sent  in  irons  to  the  dungeon  of 
Argyrocastron,  and  their  fates  are  unknown. 

r)  The  Greek  priest  Papagiannes  of  Depalitia  was 
seized  and  sent  in  chains  to  the  dungeon  of  Valona,  under 
the  accusation  of  having  incited  rebellion. 

s)  Vassil  St3diares,  of  Ostemnitsa,  of  the  District  of 
Premeti  w^as  shot,  because  lie  had  taken  part  in  the  rebellion 
of  1914  against  the  Albanian  rule  in  North  Epirus.     On  a 


108        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

similar  accusation  the  Albano-Italians  hanged  Gregory 
Kaliantzes  of  Ostemnitsa. 

t)  In  the  town  of  Tsagouzi  the  Albanians  demanded  the 
surrender  of  a  Greek  Epirote,  Nasios  Kotos.  Kotos  did 
not  appear.  The  Albanians  seized  Kotos'  young  wife,  and 
demanded  5,000  drachmas,  pretending  that  Kotos  owed 
that  sum  to  them.  Upon  her  refusing  to  give  up  the 
money,  they  bound  her  to  a  tree,  and  murdered  her  by 
pouring  over  her  body  boiling  oil. 

u)  Seventeen  villagers  of  the  village  of  Lecles  were 
butchered  in  the  fields  while  they  were  working  there,  on 
the  ground  that  they  too  had  risen  in  rebellion  against  the 
Albanian  state. 

v)  During  Passion  week,  the  immemorial  custom  of 
ringing  the  bells  was  abolished. 

w)  The  communications  between  the  portion  of  Epirus 
occupied  by  Italy,  and  that  now  belonging  to  Greece  have 
been  totally  stopped. 

x)  The  Italians  drove  away  the  Greek  officials,  and  col- 
lected the  taxes  which  belong  to  the  Greek  government. 

y)  All  the  civil  and  judicial  clerks  that  occupied  their 
positions  under  the  autonomy  of  North  Epirus  have  been 
dismissed,  then  imprisoned,  and  their  properties  confis- 
cated, and  the  amount  of  taxes  paid  by  the  Mussulmans  to 
the  Greek  government  was  returned  to  the  Mohammedan 
Albanians. 

z)  Despite  the  assurances  of  Italy  that  her  occupation 
of  Xorth  Epirus  would  be  but  temporary,  and  that  such 
occupation  was  dictated  by  military  necessities,  the  Italian 
commander  in  North  Epirus,  General  Prussi,  has  raised 
with  great  ceremonies  the  Albanian  flag,  and  announced 
officially  the  termination  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Greece  over 
North  Epirus. 

z')  On  Easter  day  April  2,  by  permission  of  the  Italian 
authorities  a  certain  Papapanos  from  Roumania,  came 
from  Yalona  to  Argyrocastron  and  was  appointed  priest 
by  the  Itahan  local  authorities.     Papapanos  read  mass  in 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  109 

Albanian.  Whereupon  the  Christians  rushed  out.  This 
disapproval  of  the  Albanian  language  by  the  Christians  of 
Northern  Epirus  annoyed  the  Italian  authorities,  who  im- 
mediately afterwards  ordered  the  arrest  of  forty  wealthy 
Greeks  of  Argyrocastron. 

That  Italy  has  followed,  not  the  Italian  traditions  but 
German  methods  in  the  treatment  of  the  Epirotes,  is 
shown  in  the  desperate  appeal  made  by  the  Greek  Deputies 
from  Northern  Epirus  who  were  refused  admission  to  the 
Greek  Parliament  by  Mr.  Venizelos,  like  the  Cretan 
deputies  in  1910,  in  order  to  avoid  European  complica- 
tions. 

The  Deputies  from  Northern  Epirus  protest  against  the 
barbarous  attempt  of  the  military  authorities  of  Italy  to 
exterminate  the  Greek  element  of  Northern  Epirus. 

Protest  of  the  Dejmties 

The  deputies  of  Northern  Epirus  have  submitted  to  the 
Greek  Parliament  a  declaration  affirming  thereby  the 
Hellenic  character  of  their  country,  and  its  attachment  to 
the  mother  country,  Greece,  and  protesting  against  the  vio- 
lation of  its  rights.  They  demanded  admission  to  the 
Parliament  to  represent  North  Epirus.  Premier  Ven- 
izelos answered: 

"The  touching  appeal  of  the  deputies  from  North 
Epirus  finds  a  profound  echo  not  only  in  the  hearts  of  those 
who  constitute  the  Parliament,  but  also  in  the  soul  of  the 
entire  nation.  Unfortunately,  the  criminal  policy  of  the 
Cabinet  which  succeeded  the  Cabinet  of  the  Liberals  re- 
sulted for  North  Epirus  in  the  discontinuation  of  the 
Hellenic  occupation  effected  by  the  Ministry  of  the  Lib- 
erals with  the  consent  or  rather  with  the  tolerance  of  all 
the  Great  Powers.  Today,  we  are  deprived  of  an  inter- 
national title  to  North  Epirus,  although  we  are  not  de- 
prived of  our  just  right  to  it.  We  do  not  abandon  our 
just  claims  to  North  Epirus,  but  at  this  time  we  do  not 
wish  to  create  international  difficulties.     For  this  reason 


110        THE  QUESTION  OF  xNORTHERN  EPIRUS 

we  cannot  accept  here  the  deputies  from  North  Epirus. 
Yet,  we  cannot  forget  that  we  are  bound  to  this  region 
by  ties  which  it  is  true  are  not  written  down  by  any  treaty, 
but  which  are  more  powerful  than  any  human  decisions, 
or  any  convention  of  nations.  To  this  section  of  Hellas, 
the  nation  is  bound  not  only  by  a  common  history  of  many 
thousands  of  years,  but  also  by  its  ethnography,  and 
by  the  resolute  decision  of  the  inhabitants  who  can  never 
cease  to  be  Hellenes,  and  can  never  agree  to  submit  them- 
selves to  a  foreign  domination.  Even  if  the  action  of 
the  ancient  regime  gave  grounds  for  fear  that  those  natural 
and  undissoluble  bonds  would  not  suffice  to  make  our  title 
good  in  North  Epirus,  there  cannot  exist  any  such  fear 
today,  when  Greece  has  entered  the  path  which  was  im- 
posed upon  her  by  her  history,  by  her  traditions,  by  her 
treaty  obligations,  by  her  vital  interests.  There  can  exist 
no  such  a  fear  today  when  Greece  is  making  painful  sacri- 
fices for  the  common  struggle.  She  cannot  fear  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Peace  Table  after  the  war,  for  she  will  be 
adequately  represented  there.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine 
that  Greece's  just  rights  in  Epirus  will  be  disregarded,  be- 
cause these  rights  are  in  perfect  agreement  with  the  noble 
ends  for  which  the  AUies  are  battling." 

The  words  of  the  Premier  were  received  with  great  ap- 
probation even  by  his  bitter  opponents. 

In  a  very  able  editorial  in  the  Christian  Science  Monitor, 
the  painful  situation  of  the  Greeks  in  Northern  Epirus 
and  in  the  Dodecanese  is  pictured  in  a  very  frank  and 
oj^en  manner.  The  editorial  bears  the  title,  "Italy  and 
Greek  Nationalism,"  and  reads  as  follows: 

"M.  Venizelos,  the  'Grand  Old  ]Man  of  Greece,'  has 
often  had  to  defend  himself  from  his  enemies,  but  lately 
he  has  had  the  far  more  formidable  task  of  defending  him- 
self against  the  suspicions  of  his  friends.  Rumors  have 
been  circulated  of  intrigues  in  which  Greece  is  accused  of 
a  hostile  feeling  toward  Italy  and  Italy  of  jealousy  toward 
Greece.     Now,  the  tug  of  war  between  the  Greek  and 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  111 

the  Italian  has  been  over  the  ^^gean  Islands  and  Epirus, 
and  the  upshot  of  the  tussle  is  bringing  Italy  face  to  face 
with  two  very  awkward  factors  which  may  roughly 
be  termed  geographical  justice  and  Hellenism.  The 
^Egean  Islands,  though  they  appeared  to  be  a  kind  of 
Tom  Tiddler's  ground  when  the  Tripolitan  Quarrel  was  on 
with  Turkej^  are  in  reality  so  many  duodecimo  Cretes  in 
their  feeling  for  Greek  nationalism.  Italy  very  properly 
wrested  some  of  them  from  the  Turk,  only  to  find  that  she 
had  raised  the  troublesome  hornet's  nest  of  'Union  with 
Greece,'  about  her  ears." 

The  ruthless  hand  of  the  Roman  Sulla  once  wiped  out 
Greek  nationality  as  represented  by  the  Athenian  state, 
and  Rome  became  the  heir  of  the  ages  and  vmconsciously 
linked  Greece  with  our  own  days;  but  nothing  has  ever 
served  to  wipe  out  Greek  tradition  or  race  from  the 
^geans.  The  islands  are  uniformly  Greek  in  population, 
though  the  names  of  the  great  families  of  Rome  or  Naples 
may  be  writ  upon  some  of  them.  But  now  that  Italy  has 
made  the  idea  of  national  self  expression  her  own,  she  will 
doubtless  be  morally  bound,  not  only  to  Greece  but  to 
civilization  generally,  so  far  to  satisfy  national  aspirations 
as  to  consent  to  the  union  of  the  occupied  islands  with 
Greece,  if  they  so  demand.  Her  retention  of  them  is  not 
altogether  a  matter  of  Greek  complacency.  Greek  unity 
and  nationalism  are  not  merely  the  concepts  of  theorists, 
but  real  forces,  which  are  spreading  throughout  the  ^Egean 
and  have  manifested  themselves  in  Epirus.  This  little 
territory  on  the  Adriatic,  its  demand  for  political  union 
with  the  national  state,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  examples 
of  this  protective  power  in  Hellenism.  The  Epirotes  may 
speak  an  Albanian  dialect,  but  their  rapprochement  with 
the  Greeks  is  concretely  symbolized  by  the  Greek  schools 
established  in  generous  numbers  among  them.  The  hour 
of  their  deliverance  from  INIoslem  oppression  struck  with 
the  entrance  of  the  Greek  armies  in  1913.  But  un- 
fortunately Epirus  was  of  interest  to  others  besides  its 


112        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Hellenized  iiiliabitants.  It  occupied  an  important  geo- 
graphical position  facing  the  extreme  heel  of  Italy,  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Adriatic,  and  Italy  managed  to  have  it  in- 
cluded in  the  newly  created  principality  of  Albania,  on  the 
ground  that  both  shores  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
same  power.  The  scheme  for  Albanian  union  proved 
abortive,  as  might  naturally  have  been  expected. 

The  disposal  of  the  Epirotes,  it  is  now  recognized,  was 
a  matter  concerning  the  Epirotes  themselves.  No  longer 
can  a  nation  or  people  be  brought  into  existence,  or  snuffed 
out,  except  by  the  inward,  subjective  leanings  of  its  con- 
stituents. The  award  of  the  powers  roused  great  indigna- 
tion in  Greece,  but  not  less  so  in  Epirus.  The  inhabitants 
clamored  for,  and  obtained,  home  rule  and  the  recogni- 
tion of  Greek  as  the  official  language  of  the  administra- 
tion. The  reoccupation  by  Greek  troops  became  a  neces- 
sity of  the  anarchy  which  followed  the  breakup  of  the 
artificial  Albanian  state,  and  Italy  found  a  satisfactory 
material  guarantee  by  the  occupation  of  the  strategical 
port  of  Avlona,  to  the  north.  She  is,  therefore,  unlikely 
to  demand  Greek  evacuation  to  the  south. 

But  that  is  not  to  say  that  the  former  rivals  are  settling 
down  to  the  condition  of  good  neighbors.  The  problem  of 
Epirus  can  by  no  means  be  considered  as  permanently 
closed.  But  in  the  meantime  it  will  be  interesting  to  see 
what  effect  the  "new  mind  of  Europe,"  with  regard  to  the 
rights  of  submerged  territories  or  nationalities,  will  have 
upon  Italy's  claim  to  spheres  of  influence  in  the  Greek 
archipelagoes. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  EPIROTIC  QUESTION  IN  AMERICA 
AND  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 

Geeat  Britain,  as  the  foremost  European  nation,  has 
tak^n  a  very  hvely  interest  in  the  Epirotic  Question. 
Apart  from  Mr.  Dillon,  Mr.  Wyon,  and  M.  Caillard,  who 
wrote  at  a  time  when  Albania  did  not  exist  as  a  State, 
many  writers  of  Great  Britain  have  taken  intense  interest 
in  the  struggle  between  Epirus  and  Albania. 

In  America  only  one  gentleman  has  written  and  spoken 
in  favor  of  the  subjugation  of  Epirus,  not  only  Northern 
Epirus,  but  the  Southern  also,  that  is,  Jannina,  Preveza 
and  so  on,  to  Albania — Reverend  James  Barton,  the  Gen- 
eral Secretary  of  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  Foreign  Missions. 

We  reproduce  from  the  Boston  Evening  Transcript  both 
an  extract  of  a  lecture  by  Dr.  Barton  and  the  reply  of  the 
Transcript. 

Dr.  Barton's  Speech  at  the  Evangelical  Alliance  of 
Greater  Boston  in  the  Park  Street  Church 

"The  newspapers  of  Boston  and  of  America  in  general 
have  applauded  Montenegro  for  her  attempt  to  rob  Al- 
bania of  one  of  her  chief  cities.  INIontenegro  has  no  more 
right  to  Scutari  than  Greece  to  Korytsa,  Jannina,  all 
Albanian  cities,  never  belonging  to  their  captors.  The  un- 
friendly attitude  of  Greece  toward  all  religious  and  edu- 
cational advance  is  so  conspicuous,  that  to  allow  Albania 
to  remain  under  her  jurisdiction  is  but  to  condemn  the 
Albanians  of  that  area  to  religious  and  mental  stagna- 
tion." 

On  May  21st,  1913,  appeared  in  the  Transcript  the  fol- 
lowing in  answer  to  Dr.  Barton: 

113 


114        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

"According  to  Turkish  official  reports  there  are  in 
Korj'tsa  2200  Greek  families  and  500  Mohammedan  Al- 
banians, four  hundred  of  the  latter  having  declared  in 
favor  of  union  with  Greece. 

"In  1825  there  were  Greek  schools  in  Korytsa,  but  not 
one  Albanian.  In  the  18th  century  Korytsa  had  a  Greek 
printing  press.  There  are  in  Korytsa  today,  1  Greek 
college  for  boys,  2  Greek  high  schools  for  boys  and  2  for 
girls.  There  are  7  kindergartens  with  2000  pupils.  In 
the  Korytsa  district  there  are  114  Greek  churches,  57 
Greek  schools,  260  teachers,  and  1  Albanian  school  with 
60  pupils. 

"  Jannina  is  the  Athens  of  Epirus  in  point  of  view  of  the 
number  and  quality  of  the  Greek  schools. 

"The  Greek  Government  asked  the  Powers  to  allow  the 
people  of  Epirus  to  decide  by  plebiscite  their  national  senti- 
ments. Austria  and  Italy  refused  to  accept  such  a  solu- 
tion. They  felt  sure  that  the  people  as  a  whole  would  de- 
cide in  favor  of  union  with  Greece." 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  Dr.  Barton  has  never  visited 
Epirus,  and  has,  perhaps,  never  read  any  works  on  Epirus. 
Like  the  good  Christian  that  he  is,  he  believes  that  all  his 
fellowmen  are  truthful  like  himself.  And  this  faith  in  the 
veracity  of  Rev.  Dako,  a  notorious  organ  of  Italy's  inter- 
ests in  Albania,  Protestant  in  religion,  has  misled  Dr. 
Barton  to  make  a  statement  which  the  Transcript  has  re- 
futed with  much  irony  and  with  numbers  which  speak  for 
themselves. 

In  Great  Britain  the  two  warm  advocates  of  a  greater 
Albania  are  Sir  Aubrey  Herbert  and  Miss  Durham. 

Miss  Durham  has  visited  Albania  for  two  wrecks;  she 
has  become  infatuated  with  what  she  calls  "chivalrous  brig- 
ands." She  admits  that  she  has  spent  only  a  few  passing 
hours  at  Korytsa,  and  tells  how  she  believes  that  the  whole 
of  Epirus  is  Albanian.  Sir  Aubrey  has  never  seen  Epirus. 
Relying  on  the  reports  of  Albanians,  he  has  accused  the 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  115 

Greeks  of  having  committed  atrocious  deeds  against  the 
Albanian  population. 

Perhaps  we  can  best  confute  what  Miss  Durham  and 
Sir  Aubrey  Herbert  say  against  the  Epirotes  by  refer- 
ring the  reader  to  the  excellent  lecture  delivered  by  Col- 
onel Murray  in  ^Morley  Hall  on  the  7th  of  January,  1913, 
on  "Xorthern  Epirus  in  1913,"  which  is  reproduced  in  full 
in  Appendix  A  (p.  135) . 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  EPIROTES  IN  AMERICA 

There  are  in  America  nearly  30,000  Epirotes  from 
Northern  Epirus.  With  very  few  exceptions  most  of 
them  have  their  famihes  in  Northern  Epirus.  They  have 
come  to  America  fleeing  the  cruelties  of  the  Albanians  and 
the  Young  Turks. 

In  1914,  many  thousands  of  these  Epirotes  went  back 
to  help  their  brothers  to  beat  off  the  Albanians'  invasion 
of  their  liberated  homes.  After  the  conference  of  Corfu, 
whereby  the  Northern  Epirotic  Autonomy  was  recognized, 
the  American  Epirotes  returned  to  America.  But  when 
Italy  occupied  Northern  Epirus  and  the  persecution  of 
the  Greek  element  began  in  that  Province,  the  Epirotes  in 
America,  like  those  in  Egypt,  in  Greece,  in  London,  in 
Paris  and  in  South  Africa,  became  alarmed  and  organized 
themselves  into  what  are  known  as  the  Pan-Epirotic 
Unions. 

The  Pan-Epirotic  Unions  have  been  organized  in  order 
to  bring  the  case  of  Epirus  before  the  civilized  world,  and 
to  demand  justice  from  those  who  are  to  decide  upon  the 
destinies  of  the  small  nationalities  at  the  great  Conference 
of  Peace. 

The  Pan-Epirotic  Union  in  America  is  one  of  the  largest 
Epirotic  Societies,  including  practically  every  Epirote  in 
America. 

We  take  from  the  Constitution  of  the  Pan-Epirotic 
Union  in  America  the  following  passages  which  give  the 
purposes  and  the  aims  of  the  Epirotes : 

Whereas:  Northern  Epirus,  after  its  liberation  by  the 
victorious  Grecian  armies  in  1913,  has  been  forced  anew 

116 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  117 

by  certain  Great  European  Powers  to  subjugation  to  the 
yoke  of  a  savage  and  barbarous  people: 

Whereas:  the  Northern  Epirotes  rose  unanimously 
against  assassination  of  their  rights,  and  filed  their  pro- 
tests before  the  entire  civilized  world  against  their  forced 
subjugation  to  the  Albanian  rule: 

Whereas  :  certain  Great  Powers  have  refused  to  recog- 
nize that  Northern  Epirus,  liberated  by  the  Greek  army, 
is  very  Greek  ethnologically  and  historically: 

Whereas:  these  great  Powers  and  the  Albanians. em- 
ploy every  legitimate  and  illegitimate  means  in  order  that 
they  may  color  Northern  Epirus  as  Albanian,  and  to  the 
end  that  they  may  mislead  the  very  liberal  and  disin- 
terested opinion  of  the  Great  Republic  of  the  United 
States: 

Therefore,  We,  the  representatives  of  the  Epirotic 
Associations  in  this  hospitable  land,  having  assembled  our- 
selves in  congress  and  deliberated,  this  day,  Saturday,  the 
9th  of  jNIarch,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1918,  in  the  Hall 
of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  in  the  City  of  Worcester, 
in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  do  decide  to  found  in 
America,  a  Pan-Epirotic  Union. 


The  purpose  of  the  Union  is  the  pursuance  of  the  union 
of  the  entire  Northern  Epirus  with  the  mother  land, 
Greece : 

(a)  By  the  enlightenment  of  the  official  and  public 
opinions  of  America  on  the  Hellenic  character  of  the  en- 
tire Province  of  North  Epirus. 

(b)  By  their  unalterable  determination  to  protest  most 
vigorously  against  any  attempt  to  separate  any  portion  of 
Northern  Epirus  from  the  mother-country,  Greece. 


The  following  are  the  branches  of  the  Pan-Epirotic 
Union  in  America : 


118        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

1.  Henosis,  812  W.  63rd  St.,  Chicago,  111. 

2.  Pyrrhus,  7V2  Oliver  St.,  New  York. 

3.  Pavlos  Mela's,  P.  O.  Box  230,  Southbridge,  Mass. 

4.  Marcos   Bozzaris,    153   ^lechanic   St.,   Worcester, 
^Mass. 

5.  North  Epirotic  Amyna,  G  W.  Market  St.,  Akron,  O. 

6.  Zalongon,  312  P.  O.  Box,  Ambridge,  Pa. 

7.  Brockton  Society,  352  ^Main  St.,  Brockton,  Mass. 

8.  E.  Zappas,  P.  O.  Box  307,  Clinton,  ]Mass. 

9.  Eleutheria,  65  Appleton  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 

10.  Ch.  Zographos,  154  Main  St.,  Biddeford,  Maine. 

11.  Agonizomene  Epiros,  428  Erie  Bldg.,  Cleveland,  O. 

12.  Tjavellas,  962  Main  St.,  Fitchburg,  Mass. 

13.  Lord  Byron,  Woonsocket,  R.  I.,  P.  O.  Box  508. 

14.  D.  Doulis,  34a  Walnut  St.,  Peabody,  Mass. 

15.  National  Epirotic  Society,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

16.  George  Averof,  Franklin,  N.  H. 

17.  Ethnicos  Pothos,  Waterville,  Maine. 

18.  Ethnike  Amyna,  258^/2  E.  Boardman  St.,  Youngs- 
town,  O. 

19.  Arsakis,  P.  O.  Box  10,  Yantic,  Conn. 

20.  Agonizomene  Himara,  P.  O.  Box  324,  Elyria,  O. 

21.  Omonia  Society,  135  Lincoln  St.,  Lewiston,  Maine* 

22.  Lowell  Society,  11  Associate  Bldg.,  Lowell,  Mass. 

23.  George  Stavros,  597  Post  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

24.  Panagiotis  Danglis,  919  Fourth  St.,  Sioux  City,  la, 

25.  Kyanoleukos  Simaia,  P.O.Boxl66,  So.Omaha,  Neb. 

26.  Spyromehos,  c/o  Cr.  Soteriades,  43  Pleasant  St., 
Lynn,  Mass. 

The  Epirotes  in  the  United  States,  grieved  by  the  il- 
liberal policies  of  Italy,  to  whom  they  have  always  looked 
as  to  a  free  and  democratic  Christian  country  for  help, 
protested  very  vigorously  against  the  atrocious  persecu- 
tions of  their  relatives  in  Northern  Epirus,  who  resisted 
every  oppressive  measure  applied  against  them  to  force 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  119 

them  to  abjure  their  allegiance  to  Greek  culture  and  to 
submit  to  the  Albanian  Beys. 

We  give  here  in  full  the  protests,  etc.,  of  the  Pan- 
Epirotic  Union  in  America  handed  to  the  embassies  of 
France  and  Great  Britain  in  Washington,  to  the  embassy 
of  the  United  States  in  Athens; — and  to  the  congress  of 
the  ]Mid-European  Union,  which  was  held  in  Independ- 
ence Hall  in  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Legation  Britannique, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Your  Excellency: — 

In  addressing  ourselves  to  the  high  representative  of 
the  Royal  and  Imperial  Government  of  Great  Britain, 
we  feel  that,  however  confident  we  may  be  in  the  justice 
of  our  cause,  it  becomes  us,  as  subjects  of  an  allied  nation, 
in  recommending  a  subject  which  may  expose  the  Royal 
and  Imperial  Government  of  your  Excellency  to  the 
hazard  of  the  displeasure  of  another  allied  nation,  while 
we  explain  the  grounds  for  our  recommendation,  to  ac- 
company our  explanations  with  expressions  of  regret. 

We  can  assure  your  Excellency  that  there  is  not  among 
all  the  subjects  of  the  allied  nations  any  group  of  men 
more  deeply  convinced  than  they  who  have  the  honor  to 
address  themselves  to  your  Excellency,  of  the  vital  im- 
portance of  making  as  few  complaints,  and  of  creating 
as  few  difficulties  for  the  Allied  Governments  at  this  very 
crycial  period  of  the  war,  as  are  humanly  possible. 

So  strongly  are  we  impressed  with  this  opinion  that  we 
would  gladly  compromise,  pass  over,  or  adjourn  the  re- 
dress of  any  personal  injury  rather  than  call  upon  the 
Government  of  your  Excellency,  at  this  moment,  to  take 
any  measures  which  might  have  the  tendency  to  involve 
it  in  misunderstandings  w^ith  one  of  our  Allies.  Yet, 
we  feel  that  not  our  own  private  injuries,  not  our  own  per- 
sonal disappointments,  but  the  interests  of  the  cause  of  the 


120        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Allies, — that  cause  which  absorbs  the  anxious  concern  of 
every  lover  of  liberty, — impel  us  to  submit  our  case  to 
your  Excellency's  notice,  and  to  invite  upon  it  your  Ex- 
cellency's gracious  attention. 

In  order  that  we  may  be  brief,  we  beg  leave  to  state 
our  case  correctly  and  in  the  clearest  manner  in  which  we 
are  able. 

From  across  the  ocean,  from  that  long-tried  corner  in 
which  we  were  brought  into  the  world,  the  Province  of 
Xorth  Epirus,  mournful  lamentations  are  daily  streaming 
to  us  protesting  against  an  illiberal  policy  of  oppression 
on  the  part  of  officials  of  the  Royal  Government  of  our 
noble  Ally, — Ital3^ 

Under  the  auspices  and  under  the  encouragement  of 
the  Italian  officials,  the  Albanians  are  repeating  these  acts 
of  cruelty  which  had  brought  our  fathers  and  us  to  the 
verge  of  despair  and  expatriation. 

Our  patience,  our  endurance,  our  national  fortitude 
were  ebbing  away,  and  our  love  for  our  mother,  Hellas, 
w^as  being  stifled  year  after  year  by  the  uncouth  tyranny 
of  the  Albanian  Beys.  But  the  day  finally  arrived, — 
that  sacred  day,  for  which  fifteen  generations  of  Epi- 
rotes  had  waited,  and  the  flag  of  Hellas  waved  over  our 
bleeding  native  land  radiating  from  its  folds  liberty, 
security,  and  national  restoration.  But,  unfortunately, 
free  Epirus,  with  its  strategic  position  on  the  Adriatic, 
offended  the  interests  of  Italy,  the  third  member  of  the 
Triple  Alliance.  Supported  by  Germany  and  Austria, 
Italy  wrung  from  the  unwilling  Governments  of  Great 
Britain  and  France  the  consent  to  include  our  native  land 
in  the  Albanian  State  in  order  that  the  Adriatic  might 
remain  a  sea  accessible  only  to  the  Triple  Alliance.  We 
demonstrated  that  we  preferred  to  die  rather  than  be 
separated  from  Hellenism. 

Since  191.5  the  world  was  happy  to  behold  the  noble 
people  of  Italy  abandon  the  unnatural  alliance  with  the 
autocratic   government   and   people   of   central   Europe. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  121 

And  we,  the  Epirotes,  were  relieved  from  the  terrible 
nightmare  of  a  renewed  subjugation  at  the  command  of 
the  country  of  Mazzini,  Cavour,  and  Garibaldi.  Thank 
God,  Italy  is  no  longer  afraid  of  the  navies  of  England 
and  France.  Italy  fears  no  longer  that  Greece,  the 
protegee  of  England  and  France,  will  make  North 
Epirus  a  naval  base  against  the  Triple  Alliance. 

The  fortunes  of  the  Great  War  have  necessitated  the 
occupation  of  our  dear  native  land.  North  Epirus,  by  the 
vahant  soldiers  of  France  and  Italy.  And  France,  faith- 
ful to  her  immortal  traditions  of  justice  and  friendship 
for  the  peoples  that  strive  for  liberty,  has  won  the  undying 
love  and  the  solemn  loyalty  of  our  fathers  and  brothers  in 
the  district  of  Korytsa.  We  rejoiced  at  the  arrival  of 
these  brothers-in-arms, — the  sons  of  free  Italy.  We  ac- 
claimed them  as  liberators.  But,  we  were  soon  to  rue 
their  arrival  on  account  of  their  unsuspected  enmity  to  our 
Hellenic  convictions.  Today,  our  schools  are  closed. 
Our  teachers  and  our  priests  are  under  persecution.  The 
sacred  rights  not  denied  to  our  fathers  and  to  us  by  the 
cruel  Ali  Pasha  and  Sultan  Hamid,  are  denied  bv  our 
Ally. 

The  exasperating  news  of  such  an  unprecedented  in- 
tolerance, spreading  itself  like  wild  fire  among  our 
brothers  in  Greece  and  in  America,  sows  doubt  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Hellenes  as  to  the  ultimate  justice  to  the 
small  and  the  weak,  and  prepares  the  ground  for  the 
ubiquitous  and  poisonous  German  propaganda. 

Will  not  your  Excellency,  a  British  Ambassador,  rep- 
resenting the  mightiest  and  freest  Empire  under  the  sun, 
acquaint  your  Excellency's  Government  with  the  de- 
plorable condition  of  our  brothers  and  fathers  in  North 
Epirus  and  employ  your  good  offices  so  that  our  Ally, 
Italy,  whose  people  is  endeared  to  us  through  countless 
evidences  of  friendship  in  the  past,  may  order  the  termina- 
tion of  the  unworthy  task  of  exterminating  Hellenism  in 
North    Epirus?     Will    not    the    Government    of    Great 


122        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Britain  mediate  to  the  end  that  our  schools  where  we 
learned  to  love  freedom,  and  our  Churches  where  we 
learned  to  love  Christ,  be  restored  to  us  and  that  the  lives 
of  our  fathers  and  brothers  be  not  jeopardized  by  their 
love  for  their  mother  country, — Greece? 

This,  your  Excellency,  is  the  subject  of  or  humble  peti- 
tion. We  would  bear  much  and  would  forbear  long,  had 
it  concerned  only  our  own  parents,  our  relatives,  or  our 
own  freedom.  Such  is  our  anxiety  that  no  trouble,  no 
diversions  should  be  caused  to  the  Governments  of  our 
Allies  from  the  main  object  of  winning  the  war.  If  we 
have  taken  the  liberty  of  addressing  this  petition  to  your 
Excellency,  we  were  actuated  for  the  greater  part  by  a 
concern  for  the  general  cause  of  the  Allies  and  for  its  good 
repute  among  the  Greek  people,  who  are  already  mingling 
their  blood  with  that  of  their  brethren  from  England, 
France,  America,  and  Italy,  in  the  great  field  of  honor. 

Trusting  in  the  British  Justice  of  your  Excellency  for 
the  relief  of  our  brothers  and  for  the  vindication  of  the 
good  name  of  the  Allies,  we  are, 

(Signed) 
Your  Obedient  Servants, 
President,  Councillors 

De.  J.  Gatsopoulos.  V.  Meliones, 

Vice-preside7its,  ^I.  Mitchell, 

S.  Hatzigcanna,  L.  Kalyvas, 

N.  C.  Vardakas.  E.  John, 

Secretary,  K.  Gatsopoulos, 

N.  Cassavettes. 

Legation  Fran^aise, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Your  Excellency: — 

In  addressing  ourselves  to  the  high  representative  of  the 
Bepublic  of  France,  we  feel  that  we  are  turning  to  a 
familiar  friend.  The  name  of  France,  we  have  learned 
since  our  childhood  in  the  mountain  villages  of  North 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  123 

Epirus  TO  revere  and  to  love  with  as  passionate  a  love 
as  that  with  which  we  love  Hellas, — our  motherland. 

To  divert  your  Excellency's  overtasked  attention  from 
the  present  affairs  which,  we  know,  are  exacting  every 
minute  of  your  Excellency's  hour,  we  realize  is  not  only 
uncivil  and  ungracious,  but  also  unpatriotic  at  these 
critical  times.  We  can  assure  your  Excellency,  how- 
ever, that  no  private  interests,  no  selfish  motives,  no  per- 
sonal injuries,  however  serious  they  might  be,  would  have 
induced  us  to  break  in  upon  your  pressing  time.  Only 
the  conviction  for  which  the  admirable  sons  of  immortal 
France  are  shedding  their  blood  in  profusion,  has  pre- 
vailed upon  us  to  bring  it  to  your  Excellency's  cognizance. 

From  across  the  ocean,  from  that  long-tried  corner  in 
which  we  were  brought  into  the  world,  the  Province  of 
North  Epirus,  mournful  lamentations  are  daily  streaming 
to  us  protesting  against  the  illiberal  policy  of  oppression 
on  the  part  of  the  officials  of  the  Royal  Government  of 
our  noble  Ally, — Italy.  Under  the  auspices,  and  through 
the  encouragement  of  the  Italian  officials,  the  Albanians 
are  repeating  those  revolting  acts  of  cruelty  which  had 
brought  our  fathers  and  us  to  the  verge  of  despair  and 
expatriation. 

Our  patience,  our  endurance,  our  national  fortitude 
were  ebbing  away,  and  our  love  for  our  mother  Hellas 
was  being  stifled  by  the  uncouth  tyranny  of  the  Albanian 
Beys.  But  the  day  finally  dawned, — that  sacred  day,  for 
which  fifteen  generations  of  Epirotes  had  waited,  and  the 
flag  of  Hellenism  waved  over  our  bleeding  native  land, 
radiating  from  its  white  and  blue  folds  liberty,  security, 
and  national  restoration. 

But  free  Epirus  was  coveted  by  powerful  nations. 
Italy,  supported  by  Germany  and  Austria,  insisted  upon 
the  separation  of  Epirus  from  Greece,  for  fear  Greece 
should  allow  the  straits  to  become  the  naval  base  for 
France  and  England  against  the  Triple  Alliance. 

We  revolted,  although  Mr.  Venizelos  was  forced  with 


124        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

heavy  heart  to  abandon  us  to  our  own  powers.  We  have 
demonstrated  to  the  world  that  unless  we  are  permitted 
to  live  united  to  our  motherland,  Greece,  we  will  not 
shrink  from  death  to  the  last  of  us. 

Since  1915,  the  world  is  happy  to  behold  the  whole 
people  of  Italy  on  the  side  of  the  champions  of  liberty  and 
justice.  We,  too,  the  Epirotes,  welcomed  the  entrance  of 
Italy  into  the  war  with  exultation,  for  we  imagined  Italy 
would  no  longer  fear  that  Greece  would  allow  the  French 
and  English  fleets  in  the  straits.  We  welcomed  the 
valiant  sons  of  France  in  the  district  of  Korytsa,  and  those 
of  Italy  at  Argyrocastro.  And  France,  faithful  to  her 
immortal  traditions  of  friendship  for  and  justice  to  all 
peoples  that  struggle  for  their  liberties  has  won  the  undy- 
ing love  of  our  fathers  and  brothers  for  the  chivalrous 
way  the  officials  of  France  deported  themselves  toward 
them.  On  the  contrary,  Italy,  in  the  words  of  a  great 
French  Philhellene,  Mr.  Rene  Puaux,  "n'a  gagne  a  cette 
obstination  dans  Tin  justice  qu'a  s'aliener  pour  tou  jours 
I'amitie  du  peuple  Grec."  Today  our  schools  where  we 
learned  to  love  Greece,  to  love  France,  to  love  Liberty, 
are  shut  down;  the  Churches,  where  we  learned  to  worship 
our  God,  who  will  give  France  her  victory,  are  no  longer 
accessible  to  our  parents  and  to  our  relatives.  Our  teach- 
ers and  our  venerable  priests  are  dying  in  dungeons  be- 
cause they  are  Hellenes,  and  wish  to  be  united  to  Hellas. 

The  exasperating  news  of  such  an  unprecedented  in- 
tolerance, spreading  itself  like  a  wild  fire  among  our 
brothers  in  Greece  and  in  America,  instills  in  their  hearts 
ugly  doubts  as  to  the  ultimate  justice  to  the  small  and 
the  weak,  preparing  the  ground  for  the  ubiquitous  and 
poisonous  German  Propaganda. 

Will  not  your  Excellency,  the  Ambassador  of  France, 
representing  the  freest  Republic  in  the  World,  acquaint 
your  Excellency's  Government  with  the  deplorable  con- 
ditions of  our  fathers  and  brothers  in  Xorth  Epirus  and 
employ  your  good  offices  to  the  end  that  our  Ally,  Italy, 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  125 

whose  people  had  so  endeared  itself  to  us  in  the  past 
through  her  noble  sons  Cavour,  Mazzini,  and  Garibaldi, 
may  put  an  end  to  the  unworthy  task  of  exterminating 
Hellenism  from  North  Epirus?  Will  not  the  Govern- 
ment of  our  beloved  France  mediate  that  our  schools  be 
restored  to  us  and  be  reopened,  our  Churches  returned  and 
our  relatives  allowed  to  adhere  to  their  national  convic- 
tions? 

This,  your  Excellency,  is  the  subject  of  our  humble 
petition.  We  would  bear  much,  and  would  forbear  long, 
had  it  concerned  only  our  parents,  our  relatives,  and  our 
freedom.  Such  is  our  anxiety  that  no  diversion  should 
be  caused  to  the  cares  of  the  Governments  of  our  Allies 
from  the  main  object  of  winning  the  war.  If  we  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  address  this  petition  to  your  Ex- 
cellency, we  were  actuated,  for  the  greater  part,  by  a  con- 
cern for  the  general  cause  of  the  Allies,  and  for  their  good 
repute  among  the  Greek  people,  who  are  already  mingling 
their  streams  of  blood  with  those  of  the  sons  of  France, 
America,  England,  and  Italy,  in  the  field  of  honor. 

Trusting  in  the  love  France  cherishes  for  Hellas,  for 
the  relief  of  our  fathers  in  Epirus,  and  for  the  vindication 
of  the  good  name  of  our  Allies,  we  are, 

Your  obedient  servants, 
The  President,  The  Councillors 

Dr.  J.  Gatsopoulos.  (Signatures) 

May  15,  1918. 
Legation  des  Etats  Unis, 

Athenes,  Grece. 
Your  Excellency: 

The  Epirotes  dwelling  in  the  Great  Republic  which 
your  Excellency  so  nobly  represents,  in  the  Capital  of 
Hellenism,  enjoying  the  blessings  of  Liberty,  Justice  and 
Equality  in  a  degree  embarrassing  for  its  generosity,  have 
the  honor  to  address  themselves  to  your  Excellency  to  ex- 


126        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

press  their  admiration  of,  and  their  gratitude  to  America, 
and  to  ask  your  Excellency's  mediation  in  behalf  of  our 
unfortunate  brothers  and  parents  in  N.  Epirus. 

We  receive  furtive  news  apprising  us  of  their  frightful 
sufferings  at  the  hands  of  the  Albanians  under  the 
auspices  of  our  Ally,  Italy.  In  Korytsa,  where  the  noble 
French  Army  has  been  established,  both  we  and  the 
Albanians  enjoy  freedom.  Our  schools  and  our  churches 
are  open,  and  our  parents  are  not  under  persecution.  On 
the  contrary,  in  the  district  occupied  by  Italian  soldiers, 
our  schools  have  been  closed,  our  Churches  taken  away 
from  us,  and  any  one  daring  to  call  himself  a  Hellene,  is 
cast  into  dungeon. 

When  this  unfortunate  news  reaches  us,  and,  no  doubt, 
it  trickles  back  to  Greece,  it  chills  the  ardor  of  the 
Hellenes  for  the  cause  of  the  Allies.  The  Hellenes 
believe  that  the  Allies  are  too  weak  to  be  able  to  render 
justice,  for  while  the  Allies  disapprove  of  all  modes  of 
oppression  and  are  fighting  to  stamp  it  out,  they  do  not 
insist  that  Italy  show  a  liberal  policy  in  N.  Epirus.  It 
is  not  only  for  the  recovery  of  our  Churches  and  the  salva- 
tion of  our  parents  from  persecution  that  we  appeal  to 
your  Excellency.  We  appeal  much  more  for  the  cessa- 
tion of  a  policy  which  has  very  prejudicial  effects  upon  the 
Greek  people  in  Greece  and  in  America,  in  respect  to  the 
great  cause  of  the  Allied  World. 

We  believe  in  America,  in  France  and  in  England. 
We  believe  that  they  will  do  justice  to  all  peoples  and 
races.  We  are  not  asking  justice  for  our  own  selves. 
We  desire  freedom  and  justice  for  all  oppressed  peoples. 

Will  not  your  Excellency  use  his  good  offices  to  the 
end  that  our  Ally,  Italy,  may  order  the  cessation  of  the 
extermination  of  Hellenism  in  N.  Epirus  for  the  sake 
of  the  good  reputation  of  our  great  cause? 

The  Epirotes  in  America  serving  in  the  United  States 
Army  will  be  forever  indebted  to  the  gi-eat  country  your 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  127 

Excellency  represents  in  Greece  and  will  repay  you  by 
laying  down  their  lives  generously  for  the  glory  of 
America. 

Your  Obedient  Servants: 
The  President,  The  Councillors 

Dr.  J.  Gatsopoulos.  (Signatures) 

Appeal  to  the  Congress  of  the  Unredeemed 
Nationalities 

c/o  Mr.  Vasilakaki,  Greek  Deputy, 
Independence  Hall,  Phila.,  Pa. 

Being  advised  that  the  Albanians  have  claimed  North- 
ern Epirus  as  Albanian,  we  the  Pan-Epirotic  Union  in 
America  representing  over  50,000  Epirotes,  living  in  this 
great  Republic  and  coming  mostly  from  Northern  Epirus, 
protest  with  all  our  might  against  such  statements  which 
present  anything  but  the  truth. 

We  claim  that  Epirus  has  always  been  Greek  in  all 
ethnological  and  historical  aspects  and,  that,  although 
Northern  Epirus  was  included  in  Albania  in  1913  on  the 
insistence  of  Austria-Hungary,  it  has  nevertheless  been 
recognized  as  Greek  in  Corfu.  This  statement  of  the 
Albanians  is  misrepresenting  the  truth,  as  was  proven  in 
1914  at  Corfu,  when  the  European  Powers  recognized 
their  mistake  of  adding  Northern  Epirus  to  Albania  on 
the  insistence  of  Austria-Hungary  and  Italy,  by  sign- 
ing the  Protocol  of  Corfu,  which  protocol  recognizes 
Northern  Epirus  as  an  Independent  State  with  all  the 
rights  of  self-government.  This  took  place  after  the 
complete  success  of  the  Northern-Epirotic  Revolution, 
which  lasted  for  eight  months  and  proved  beyond  doubt 
the  Greek  character  of  the  Northern  Epirotes  from  an 
ethnological  point  of  view  as  any  writer  of  history  will 
admit. 

We  were  born  Greek  and  our  rights  to  church  and 
schools  were  recognized  by  the  Government  of  the  Otto- 
man Empire.     We  are  going  to  remain  Greeks  and  in 


128        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

case  of  need  we  will  prove  it  once  more  by  repeating  the 
history  of  1914. 

We  believe  that  your  Congress,  which  will  present  to 
the  Peace  Council  the  rights  of  the  unredeemed  national- 
ities, will  not  forget  to  set  forth  the  rights  of  the  North 
Epirotes  who  demand  their  union  with  Mother  Greece  in 
the  most  categorical  manner  on  the  basis  of  facts  which 
have  been  proven  true  in  all  the  ethnological  and  histori- 
cal past  of  the  Epirotes. 


CHAPTER  XV 
CONCLUSION 

Had  not  the  Great  War  brought  forth  new  ideals;  had 
not  the  Great  War  brought  forth  a  Lloyd  George,  a 
Wilson  and  a  Clemenceau  upon  the  arena  of  world 
politics,  we  should  not  have  attempted  to  write  this  book- 
let. Rather  should  we  have  issued  an  appeal  to  the 
Northern  Epirotes  to  take  up  arms  and  defend  their 
homes  and  their  sacred  liberties  against  any  tyrant. 

Fortunately  for  the  Epirotes  and  for  all  the  oppressed 
nationalities,  the  days  of  bargaining  away  the  freedom 
and  the  lives  of  small  nationalities  has  passed. 

Today  the  conscience  of  the  world  will  not  tolerate  that 
the  freedom  of  a  nationality,  however  obscure  and  small 
it  may  be,  shall  be  sacrified  for  the  selfish  advantages  of 
the  stronger  imperialistic  nations,  and  we  are  confident 
that  the  Epirotes  have  demonstrated  that  they  are  fully 
worthy  of  their  liberty,  by  having  sacrificed  tens  of 
thousands  of  lives  struggling  for  five  hundred  years,  not 
only  to  save  their  national  conscience  but  also  to  preserve 
their  Christian  religion. 

Pouqueville  bears  witness  to  the  superhuman  struggles 
of  the  Epirotes  to  win  freedom  not  only  for  themselves 
but  also  for  the  entire  Greek  race. 

In  his  Histoire  de  La  Grece,  Book  I,  page  2,  he  writes: 

"I  shall  show  how  the  Greeks"  (and  he  speaks  of  the  Epirotes 
also)  "fallen  from  their  splendor,  subjugated  by  the  Romans, 
whom  they  tamed,  degraded  under  the  Theologian  Emperors,  con- 
quered by  the  Turks,  whom  they  have  failed  to  civilize,  chafing  un- 
ceasingly at  their  chains,  ensnaring  despotism  in  its  own  snares, 
came  back  to  their  heritage,  and  rose  again  to  be  a  nation." 

The  Northern  Epirotes  are  Greeks  in  every  respect. 
The  numerous  testimonies  of  men  who  have  visited  Epirus 

129 


130        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

can  leave  no  candid  and  just  person  unconvinced  as  to  the 
real  wishes  of  the  large  majority  of  the  people  of  North- 
ern Epirus. 

We  have  not  put  forth  arguments  and  theories,  but 
facts  which  have  been  sustained  by  the  writings  of  eminent 
and  well  recognized  writers  of  all  the  civilized  and  dis- 
interested European  peoples,  as  well  as  of  America. 

It  remains  with  the  peoples  of  America,  France  and 
England  to  render  justice  to  the  Epirotes  or  to  condemn 
them  to  the  yoke  of  the  JNIoslem  state,  of  a  semi-barbar- 
ous people. 

"It  is  a  travesty  of  justice,"  writes  Mr.  Toynbee  in 
his  Greek  Policies  Since  1882,  "that  a  civilized  and  cul- 
tured people  should  be  surrendered  to  the  mercy  of  a 
primitive  and  wild  people." 

We  are  confident  that  the  facts  which  have  been 
gathered  from  numerous  writers,  and  enumerated  in  this 
booklet  will  persuade  the  freedom-loving  and  justice-lov- 
ing peoples  of  France,  England,  America,  and  Italy  to 
grant  the  much  desired  freedom  to  the  sorely  tried  people 
of  Northern  Epirus,  by  allowing  it  to  unite  with  its 
motherland — Greece. 

But  should  the  Northern  Epirotes  be  again  deprived  of 
their  freedom,  and  made  a  sacrifice  to  the  selfish  interests 
of  a  great  Power,  they  are  determined  to  resist  to  the  last 
of  them. 

What  they  did  in  1914,  they  can  repeat  now.  The 
Greek  people  can  never  rest  until  Epirus,  from  Preveza 
to  the  Acroceraunian  INIountains,  is  included  in  Greece. 
The  Powers  may  decide  what  they  will.  The  Epirotes 
will  demonstrate,  if  need  be,  once  more  that  they  value 
their  liberties  more  than  their  lives. 

That  the  Northern  Epirotes  are  not  Albanians;  that  the 
Albanians  are  not  brothers  to  the  Christian  Epirotes ;  that 
the  Epirotes  hate  the  Albanians  as  their  oppressors  for 
five  hundred  years,  that  the  Northern  Epirotes  cannot  be 
secure  under  an  Albanian  domination,  is  very  clearly  seen 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  131 

from   the   following  quotation   from  the  work   of  Mr. 
Toynbee : 

"Then  (1914)  the  Moslem  Albanians  rushed  against  the  Chris- 
tians and  committed  untold  atrocities. 

"The  reoccupation  of  Epirus  by  Greek  troops  had  become  a 
matter  of  life  and  death  for  the  Epirotes,  and  in  October,  1914, 
Venizelos  took  the  inevitable  step,  after  serving  due  notice  upon  all 
the  signatory  Powers  to  the  Treaty  of  London. 

"No  opposition  or  protest  came  against  this  action  of  Venizelos. 

"The  Reclamation  of  Epirus  is  the  most  honorable  achievement 
of  the  Greek  national  revival." 

We  entrust  our  freedom,  our  lives  and  our  homes  to 
the  justice  of  the  peoples  of  America,  England,  France 
and  Italy,  and  hope  that  a  free  Albania  will  not  mean  a 
subjugated  Northern  Epirus. 

In  any  case,  the  Northern  Epirotes  organized  into  one 
Pan-Epirotic  Union  representing  all  the  Epirotes  in 
Epirus,  in  Greece,  in  Egypt  and  in  America,  will  battle 
to  the  last  to  win  their  freedom,  or  perish,  if  the  justice 
of  the  Allies  suffers  itself  to  be  imposed  upon  by  the  un- 
holy demands  of  the  selfish  and  imperialistic  interests  of 
Great  Powers. 

"Indeed,"  writes  Mr.  Rene  Puaux,  "the  Epirotes  are 
more  Greek  than  the  Greeks  themselves." 

And  Mr.  Caillard,  "The  Epirotes  from  Valona  to 
Preveza  are  Greeks  in  sentiment,  culture,  language  and 
aspirations, — it  is  hoped  that  they  will  soon  be  Greeks 
also  in  name  and  be  joined  to  their  motherland, — Greece." 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

1.  Iliad 

2.  Herodotus 

3.  Aristotle — Meteorological 

4.  Plutarch — Life  of  Paulus  Aeniilius 

5.  Pouqueville — Histoire  de  la  Grece 

6.  Leake — Travels  in  Greece 

7.  Ami  Boue,  Turquie  d'Europe 
8'.  Wordsworth — Greece 

9.  Stuart — Royal  Geographic  Society,  London,  Vol.  39,  1869- 

10.  Isambert — Memoirs  Inedits  de  L'Epire 

11.  Kiepert — General  Karte  der  Central  Europa 

12.  Emile  Legrand,  Albania  1841-1903 

13.  Colquhoun — Albania 

14.  Brown,  H.  A. — A  Winter  in  Albania 

15.  A.  Legrand — Souvenirs  de  La  Haute  Albanie 

16.  Andre  Duboscq — Syrie,  Tripolitaine,  Albanie 

17.  Fred  Gibert — Les  Pays  d'Albanie  et  leur  Histoire  (1914) 

18.  Sir  J.  Hobhouse— A  journey  through  Albania  1786-1869^ 

19.  Th.  S.  Hughes— Travels  in  Greece  and  Albania  (1830) 

20.  E.  E.  Knight— Albania  (1880) 

21.  J.  W.   Peacock — Albania  the  Foundling  State  of  Europe 

(1914) 

22.  Paul  Siebertz — Albania  und  die  Albanesen  (1910) 

23.  W.  M.  Leake — Researches  in  Greece — 1777-1860 

24.  L.  Benloen — La  Grece  avant  Les  Grecs  (1879) 

25.  Albania  and  the  Albanians,  Fortnightly  Review,  April,  1885 

26.  Blood — Vengeance — Popular  Science  Monthly 

27.  Albania  Contemporary — Temple  Bar 

28.  Roman    Catholic    Albania — Blackwood's    Magazine,    April,. 

1903 

29.  The  Albanian  Question — Edinburgh  Review 

30.  The  Albanian  Macedonian  Committee — Spectator,  June  1,, 

1912 

132 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  133 

31.  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  May  21,  1913 

32.  The  jEgean  and  the  Albanian  Problems,  Spectator,  Feb.  21, 

1914- 

33.  Albania,  the  Adriatic  and  the  Balkans,  Spectator,  Apr.  11, 

1914< 
34-.     Troubles  of  Albania,  Spectator,  May  23,  1914 
35.     Albania — Open  Court,  February,  1913 
S6.     Albanian  Rising — Spectator,  April  30,  1910,  and  April  15, 

1911 

37.  The  Wild  Alhamgi— Delineator,  July,  1915 

38.  The  Skypetars — Harper's  Weekly,  April  11,  and  May  11, 

1915 

39.  Italy  and  Albania — Contemporary  Review,  March,  1915. 

40.  The   Comic   Opera   Kingdom — Literary   Digest,   March   6, 

1915 

41.  Albania  and  Italy,  Living  Age,  March  11,  1916 

42.  Albania's  Plight — Outlook,  January  19,  1916 

43.  Albania,  Austria,  Italy   and   the  Adriatic — Contemporary 

Review,  August,  1917 

44.  The  Albanian  Question,  The  Quarterly  Review,  July,  1917 

45.  The   Albanian    Question — Contemporary   Review,    October, 

1917 

46.  Independent  Albania — Living  Age,  August  11,  1917 

47.  Italy  and  Albania — Outlook,  Aug.  8,  1917 

48.  The  New  Republic  of  Korytsa — Current  History  Magazine, 

N.  Y.  Times,  July,  1917 

49.  Reestablishing  Albania — Current  History  Magazine,  N.  Y. 

Times,  August,  1917 

50.  Roman  Albania — Century,  March,  1917 

51.  Two   Offers   of   Autonomy   for   Albania — Current   History 

Magazine,  N.  Y.  Times,  July,  1917 

52.  A  Home  Rule  Cry  in  the  Balkans — Literary  Digest,  May 

9,  1914 

53.  My    Albanian    Winter — Blackwood's    Magazine,    January, 

1917 

54.  La  Lutte  Pour  L'Adriatic — Review  des  Deux  Mondes,  Sept. 

15,  1916 

55.  The  Mastery  of  the  Adriatic — Spectator,  January  22,  1916 

56.  Northern  Epirus  in  1913— By  Colonel  Murray,  A.M.,  C.B., 

M.V.O. 


134        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

57.  Albania  and  Eplrus — Hon.  W.  Pember  Reeves 

58.  Artificial  Frontiers  in  the  Balkans — F.  de  Jessen   (Anglo- 

Hellenic  League) 

59.  Greece  and  the  Epirus  Rising — Anglo-Hellenic  League 

60.  The  Northern  Epirotes — C.  S.  Butler,  Manchester  Guardian, 

September  30,  1914 

61.  A  Plea  for  a  Civilized  Epirus — Hon.  W.  P.  Reeves  (Anglo- 

Hellenic  League) 

62.  Affairs  in  Albania — Morning  Post,  January  7,  1914 

63.  The  Situation  in  Southern  Albania — Westminster  Gazette, 

Jan.  8,  1918 

64.  Hellas  and  the  Balkan  Wars — D.  J.  Cassavetti 

65.  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  April  12,  1912 

66.  New  Europe — Arnold  Toynbee 

67.  La  Malheureuse  Epire — Rene  Puaux 

68.  Douze  Ans  de  Propagande  en  Faveur  des  Pays  Balkaniques 

— Andre  Cheradame 


APPENDIX  A 

Lecture  Delivered  by  Colonel  Murray,  A.M.,  C.B.,, 
M.V.O.,  IN  MoRLEY  Hall,  January  7,  1913,  En- 
titled "Northern  Epirus  in  1913" 

Colonel  Murray  said: — "Mr.  Pember  Reeves,  ladies  and 
gentlemen, — My  claim  to  the  honorable  task  of  addressing 
you  on  the  subject  chosen  for  this  lecture  is  based  on  noth- 
ing more  than  a  ten  week's  tour  through  Epirus,  extending, 
as  you  will  see  from  this  map,  from  Korytsa  on  the  north  to 
Himara  on  the  coast  of  the  Adriatic  Sea.  But,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  if  you  will  bear  with  me  for  a  short  time,  I  think 
I  can,  at  any  rate,  promise  to  tell  you  the  truth  about 
Epirus,  and  this  will  come  not  from  a  mere  student,  but 
from  an  eye-witness  of  what  is  going  on  in  a  district  of 
Europe  which  is  a  terra  incognita  to  most  EngUsh  people, 
and  even  to  many  Greeks ;  and  possibly,  for  this  reason,  my 
few  remarks,  however  crude,  dull  and  tamely  expressed, 
may  have  some  small  use,  for  a  great  deal  has  been  lately 
talked  and  written  about  Epirus  which  is  the  reverse  of 
truthful,  and  which,  on  this  account,  has  done  incalculable 
harm  in  misdirecting  the  public  mind,  by  holding  up  to  view 
a  false  and  misleading  picture  of  facts  as  they  actually  exist 
and  as  I  hope  to  describe  them  this  evening. 

"Romance  and  fiction,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  when 
rightly  made  use  of,  have  a  high  and  honorable  place  in 
the  world  of  letters  for  they  help  to  stimulate  the  imagina- 
tion and  inspire  healthy  thoughts  in  the  minds  of  the  young. 
But  they  are  out  of  place,  and  have  only  a  degrading  influ- 
ence when  used,  as  they  lately  have  been,  by  those  who 
ought  to  know  better,  sometimes  ignorantly  to  deceive  the 
public  and  prejudice  a  brave  and  virtuous  people  by  the 
dissemination  of  mendacious  calumnies  which,  if  they  were 
as  true  as  they  are  false,  would  dishonor  the  Greek  Govern- 

135 


136        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

ment,  the  Greek  nation  and  the  Greek  army  in  the  eyes  of 
Europe.  I  am  referring  to  those  charges  lately  made  hy 
an  English  member  of  Parliament  through  the  medium  of 
an  English  newspaper,  charges  which  I  declare  to  you  are 
absolutely  false,  and  which,  though  ignorantly  brought 
forward,  are  so  serious  that  I  feel  sure  all  right-thinking 
people  will  agree  with  me  in  saying  that  they  should  not 
have  been  made  without  previous  verification.  I  don't 
propose  to  take  up  your  time  by  going  into  these  charges 
in  detail,  but  I  may  say  that  when  I  was  at  Argyrocastro 
and  Tepeleni  a  few  weeks  ago,  I  talked  and  dined  with 
some  of  the  so-called  INIussulman  notables  alleged  to  have 
been  put  to  death  or  imprisoned,  or  maltreated  while  the 
names  of  other  murdered  and  tortured  persons  could  not  be 
traced  at  all.  You  may  take  my  word  for  it  that  the  whole 
of  the  charges  brought  against  the  Greek  Government  and 
the  Greek  Army  are  fictitious  from  beginning  to  end. 
During  the  course  of  my  tour  I  made  it  an  object  to  inquire 
of  the  INIussulman  population  of  Epirus  if  they  had  any 
complaints  against  the  Greek  authorities,  and  I  only  heard 
one.  A  peasant  at  the  village  of  Gustovitza  said  he  had 
lost  a  dog  which  he  was  certain  a  Greek  soldier  had  stolen, 
but  he  had  no  evidence  to  support  his  charge.  As  to  Mus- 
sulmans being  cut  to  pieces,  tortured,  and  so  on,  the  charges 
are  as  ridiculous  as  they  are  groundless.  I  hope  we  shall 
hear  no  more  of  them,  but  if  we  do  I  think  we  shall  do  right 
to  treat  them  with  the  contempt,  scorn  and  ridicule  with 
which  they  have  been  treated  by  every  man  in  the  street  in 
every  village  in  Epirus — which  they  certainly  deserve. 

"The  party  of  foreign  Press  representatives  with  whom 
I  was  associated  during  the  tour  in  Epirus  consisted  of 
M.  Franz  de  Jessen,  correspondent  of  the  Temjis,  M.  Bles- 
sas,  of  the  Figaro,  Herr  Tschentcher,  of  the  Berlin  Central 
Press,  and  myself.  We  were  occasionally  joined  by  gen- 
tlemen representing  Greek  newspapers,  and  for  a  short 
time  by  Captain  Trapman,  War  Correspondent  of  The 
Daily  Telegraph;  but  the  four  I  have  named  remained  to- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  137 

gether  throughout  the  tour,  seeing  always  eye  to  eye,  and 
working  with  the  common  purpose  of  finding  out  the  truth. 
We  made  it  an  object  to  follow  the  International  Commis- 
sioners, keeping  them  always  in  sight,  and  accompanying 
them  when  they  paid  visits  to  the  villages.  But  as  you  are 
probably  aware,  these  visits  soon  came  to  an  end  on  account 
of  divisions  among  the  Commissioners,  and  for  several 
weeks  the  Commission  was  marking  time  at  Hersega  and 
Liascovitch,  while  the  Powers  were  considering  what  in- 
structions to  send  them.  Whilst  they  were  waiting  we 
were  not  idle,  but  went  over  by  ourselves  ground  which, 
at  one  time,  we  hoped  to  traverse  in  company  with  the 
Commissioners,  but  which,  under  superior  orders,  was 
eventually  dropped  out  of  their  programme. 

"Now,  perhaps,  you  would  like  me  to  say  a  few  intro- 
ductory words  about  the  Commissioners  who  were  ap- 
pointed to  delimit  the  frontier.  England  was  represented 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Doughty- Wylie,  C.N.G.,  lately 
Consul  at  Adana,  and  now  holding  the  same  position  at 
Addis  Ababa.  He  was  assisted  by  Captain  King,  R.  E., 
for  topographical  work.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lallemand, 
of  the  French  Artillery,  and  M.  Krayer,  Vice  Consul  at 
Volo,  were  the  French  delegates.  Colonel  Gouten,  Rus- 
sian military  attache  at  Athens,  represented  the  Russian 
Government.  The  German  delegate  was  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Tierry,  of  the  General  Staff,  Austria-Hungary 
being  represented  by  Herr  Bilinski,  and  Herr  Buchberger, 
who  held  the  posts  respectively  of  Consul-General  and 
Vice  Consul  at  Jannina  until  the  capture  of  that  place  by 
His  Majesty  King  Constantine.  Signor  Labia,  late 
Italian  Consul  at  Jannina,  was  the  Italian  representative, 
and  was  assisted  by  Captain  Castoldi,  who  had  formerly 
beeli  in  the  Turkish  service  as  a  gendarme  officer,  or  some- 
thing of  the  kind. 

"There  is  not  a  great  deal  to  be  said  about  these  gentle- 
men or  their  work,  and  if  there  were  it  would  be  only  wast- 
ing your  time  to  talk  about  it.     For  they  began  to  disagree 


138  THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

among  themselves  almost  from  the  first  day  they  met  to- 
gether at  Monastir,  and  when  they  referred  their  differ- 
ences to  their  Governments  the  reference  led  to  so  much 
discussion  that  Sir  Edward  Grey  determined  to  end  mat- 
ters by  proposing  a  frontier  of  his  own,  which  runs  in  a 
northeasterly  direction  from  Cape  Styles,  to  where  it  meets 
the  Servian  frontier  at  Lake  Ochrida.  This  frontier,  as 
proposed  by  England,  has  been  accepted  by  the  Powers, 
and  has  now  been  delimited  in  detail  by  the  Commissioners, 
who  comj^leted  their  work  on  the  18th  December  last,  and 
have  presumably  returned  to  their  respective  countries. 
Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have  no  desire  to  hold  up  the 
Commissioners  to  ridicule,  for  it  was  not  their  fault,  but 
the  fault  of  the  great  Powers  of  Europe,  that  they  were 
put  into  a  ridiculous  position,  which  only  came  to  an  end 
when  Sir  Edward  Grey  took  matters  out  of  their  hands 
into  his  own.  Their  instructions  were  to  go  over  the  coun- 
try lying  between  the  frontier  claimed  by  Greece,  and  the 
frontier  proposed  by  Italy  (which  is  very  nearly  identical 
with  that  now  approved  by  the  Powers)  and  find  out 
whether  the  inhabitants  were  Greeks  or  Albanians.  But 
they  were  forbidden  to  receive  any  addresses  or  deputa- 
tions, or  make  any  inquiries,  except  about  the  language 
spoken  by  the  people.  And,  as  everyone  knows  what  lan- 
guage the  Epirotes  speak — an  Albanian  patois  at  home, 
and  the  Greek  language  outside  home — the  Commissioners' 
inquiries  were  useless,  and  had  no  determining  effect  one 
way  or  the  other  in  regard  to  the  nationality  of  the  people. 
What  added  to  the  absurdity  of  the  position  was  that  only 
two  members  of  the  Commission  could  speak  either  Greek 
or  Albanian,  and  one  of  these,  Herr  Bilinski,  was  too  ill  to 
leave  his  house,  while  the  other,  Captain  Castoldi,  made  so 
many  mistakes  in  translating  answers  that  the  Commis- 
sioners lost  all  faith  in  him  as  interpreter,  and  decided  to 
ask  for  further  instructions  from  their  Governments,  w^th 
the  result  I  have  already  mentioned. 

"Having  introduced  you  to  the  dramatis  personee  of  the 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  139 

drama  which  is  now  beginning  to  be  enacted  in  Epirus, 
let  us  come  closer  with  the  subject  of  this  lecture.  Who 
are  the  Epirotes?  When  I  was  in  Epirus  I  consulted  no 
book,  but  just  went  and  asked  the  people  straight  out  who 
they  were.  Over  and  over  again  I  put  this  question  to 
them:  Who  are  you?  Are  you  Greek  or  Albanian? 
And  whether  it  came  from  men,  women,  boys  or  girls,  the 
answer  was  always  the  same,  'We  are  Greek,  and  we  in- 
tend to  remain  Greek.'  When  I  questioned  ladies  al)Out 
their  nationahty  there  was  no  mistake  about  the  spontane- 
ous sincerity  of  their  opinions,  which  they  expressed  in 
militant  language  quite  as  forcible  as  that  used  by  English 
suffragettes  when  they  are  on  the  warpath  in  search  of  the 
franchise.  Nor  were  the  two  venerable  archbishops,  whose 
portraits  I  show  on  the  screen,  less  decided  in  their  opinion. 
'Other  people,'  I  quote  the  words  of  one  of  the  Arch- 
bishops, 'may  call  us  what  they  like,  but  surely  we  ought 
to  know  ourselves  who  we  are  better  than  Mr.  Aubrey  Her- 
bert, or  Mr.  Bourchier,  or  Mr.  Brailsford,  or  Faik  Bey. 
It  is  no  good  calling  us  by  a  name  which  doesn't  belong  to 
us,  and  which  we  don't  want  to  bear.  Make  no  mistake, 
please,  we  are  not  going  to  be  Albanians  at  any  price,  and 
if  the  Powers  try  to  change  our  nationality  by  handing  us 
over  to  Albania,  I  know  that  our  people  will  resist  with 
all  the  force  at  their  disposal,  and  the  Greek  Government 
will  be  powerless  to  restrain  them.'  This  is  typical  of 
every  answer  I  got  to  my  questions,  and  there  never  was 
the  slightest  hesitation  about  the  nature  of  the  reply.  Nor 
was  this  view  of  nationality  confined  to  the  Christian  popu- 
lation of  Epirus,  for  I  found  the  same  feeling  prevalent 
among  all  the  ^Mussulmans  whom  I  consulted — and  I  pur- 
posely consulted  many,  because  I  was  anxious  to  ascertain 
their  opinion  and  wishes  about  their  future.  I  was  sur- 
prised with  the  result  of  my  inquiries.  At  all  interviews 
I  made  a  point  of  taking  notes  of  the  conversation,  and 
here  are  some  of  the  answers  which  I  received.  I  find  the 
Mayor  of  Koritza,  Ahmed  Effendi,  who  is  a  Mussulman, 


140  THE  QUE^STION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

spoke  as  follows :  'We  INIussulmans  of  Koritza  come  from 
the  same  original  stock  as  our  Christian  townsmen,  and 
we  intend  to  stand  alongside  of  them  now  at  this  crisis.  I 
am  quite  sincere,  and  speak  from  my  heart,  when  I  say 
tliat  all  tlie  IVlussuhnans  of  this  district  are  perfectly  con- 
tent with  Greek  rule,  and  wish  to  see  it  permanently  estab- 
lished here.'  Then  I  paid  a  surprise  visit  to  the  jNIiifti, 
who  was  not  an  Epirote  but  a  Turk  from  Thrace,  and  he 
said  much  the  same  as  the  mayor.  'We  are  all  very  happy 
now  under  Greek  rule,  our  religion  is  respected,  and  our 
rights  observed.  We  w-ant  to  be  Greek  citizens,  for  the 
Greek  Government  has  treated  us  with  all  possible  con- 
sideration, and  I  have  not  the  same  confidence  in  any  gov- 
ernment which  may  be  set  up  in  Albania.'  Leaving  the 
town  of  Koritza  I  rode  out  into  some  of  the  INIussulman 
villages  in  the  neighborhood  and  found  the  same  desire  for 
union  w'ith  Greece.  This  is  what  the  three  head  men  of 
the  iNIussulman  village  of  Gratza  said  w^hen  I  asked  them 
if  they  wanted  the  Turks  back  again :  'No,  we  are  Greeks 
now,  and  shall  fight  for  our  Greek  brothers  to  keep  our 
independence.'  Going  on  to  Cipani,  another  iNIussulman 
village,  the  Mukhta,  Suliman  Bey,  was  still  more  emphatic. 
This  is  what  he  said:  'King  Constantine  is  now  our  Sul- 
tan, and  imder  his  rule  we  are  happier  than  we  have  ever 
been  before.  We  want  to  be  left  alone.'  At  Hersoga,  the 
capital  of  Colonia,  a  Mussulman  deputation  presented  an 
address  to  the  Commissioners,  the  following  being  a  trans- 
lation of  the  document :  'The  undersigned  representatives 
of  the  INIussulman  community  of  the  Caza  of  Colonia  take 
the  opportunity  of  the  presence  of  the  International  Com- 
mission in  their  district  to  convey  to  the  Commissioners 
their  recognition  of  the  freedom  which  they  enjoy  under 
the  new  regime  in  all  that  concerns  their  religion  and  their 
customs,  as  well  as  the  absolute  security  which  they  now 
have  for  life  and  property.  They  have  the  honor  to  de- 
clare that  they  are  now  in  possession  of  full  liberty,  that 
the   Greek  Army  behaves  towards  the  population  in  a 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  141 

brotherly  manner,  and  that  their  interests  are  firmly  bound 
up  with  Greece,  with  which  country  they  desire  to  be 
united.'  This  petition  was  signed  by  forty  head  men  of 
twenty-five  ISIussulman  villages  of  Colonia. 

"To  verify  what  was  said  in  this  address  I  paid  a  visit  to 
Dalian  Bey,  the  leading  Mussulman  Bey  and  largest  land- 
owner in  Colonia,  who  lives  at  Kief  Zazi,  about  four  hours 
from  Hersega,  and  he  corroborated  every  word  of  the  ad- 
dress. Dalian  Bey  is  an  old  man  of  eighty  years  of  age, 
and  he  assured  me  that  for  the  first  time  in  his  long  life  he 
knew  what  it  was  to  live  in  peace  and  security.  'The 
brigands,'  he  said,  'who  infested  this  country  have  all  dis- 
appeared and  gone  back  to  their  homes  in  Albania.  We 
are  now  happy  and  contented  under  Greek  rule.  AH  we 
want  is  to  be  left  to  ourselves.' 

"Let  me  show^  you  the  portrait  of  Haidar  Bey  Russi, 
the  JVIussulman  Mayor  of  Liascovitch,  wearing  the  Greek 
colors.  He  performs  his  duties  as  mayor  for  no  remunera- 
tion. Colonel  Doughty-Wylie  was  his  guest  while  at 
Liascovitch,  and  found  him  an  intelligent  and  hospitable 
host.  These  are  his  words  when  I  talked  with  him.  'The 
Mussuhiians  and  Christians  of  Liascovitch  live  like 
brothers  together,  and  we  are  all  quite  happy  now  under 
Greek  rule.  I  am  on  the  town  committee  of  defence,  and, 
if  necessary,  I  and  my  sons  will  light  along  with  our  Chris- 
tian townsmen  for  union  with  Greece.  I  know  our  town 
is  behindhand  in  progress,  but  we  have  never  had  a  chance 
of  progressing  under  the  Turkish  Government,  and  now 
we  must  go  ahead  and  develop  on  modern  lines.'  Tefik 
Bej',  another  Liascovitch  landowner,  and  a  very  wealthy 
man,  went  even  further  than  this  in  his  professions  of  at- 
tachment to  the  Greek  Government.  'The  JNIussulmans 
even  more  than  the  Christians  are  thankful  for  the  disap- 
pearance of  Turkish  rule  and  recognize  all  that  the  Greek 
Government  is  doing  for  them.  Land  is  going  up  in  value, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  can  visit  my  property 
without  having  to  take  an  armed  escort  with  me.     I  am  a 


142         THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Greek  by  descent,  my  ancestors  having  been  converted  to 
the  Moslem  faith  l)y  force  wlien  the  Turks  first  came  to 
Epirus.  We  are  all  Bekhtashis  here,  and  the  Sultan  is 
nothing  to  us.  We  want  political  union  with  Greece;  the 
Greeks  understand  us  Mussulmans  whereas  the  Slavs  do 
not.  The  best  thing  for  Epirus  is  to  be  joined  to  Greece. 
It  is  a  natural  result  of  the  disappearance  of  the  Turks, 
and  any  other  arrangements  will  only  be  artificial,  tem- 
porary and  disturbing.  Under  the  Turks  we  had  to 
fortify  our  houses  to  protect  them  from  brigands.  Now 
we  can  ^Hill  down  the  walls.' 

"From  Liascovitch  I  went  to  Konica,  and  was  greeted 
there  by  a  deputation  of  Mussulman  townsmen,  who  asked 
me  to  carry  back  their  address  to  the  Commissioners,  beg- 
ging for  union  with  Greece.  Passing  now  on  to  Jannina 
I  there  saw  the  jNIussulman  mayor  of  the  town,  and  tlie 
Mufti,  Fouat  Effendi,  and  they  both  expressed  themselves 
as  being  perfectly  content  with  Greek  rule.  So  also  did 
Mehemet  Ali,  Pasha  of  Delvino,  who  called  upon  me  while 
at  Jannina,  and  with  whom  I  had  a  long  and  interesting 
conversation.  The  Pasha  is  a  Turk  by  descent,  not  an 
Epirote,  but  he  has  lived  so  long  in  Epirus  that  he  has 
become  more  Epirote  than  the  Epirotes.  His  is  an  inter- 
esting personality,  for  he  is  a  Turk  of  the  old  school,  and 
as  such  has  a  supreme  contempt  for  the  young  Chauvinist 
Turks  who  have  seized  the  reins  of  government  in  Con- 
stantinople. He  was  formerly  an  officer  in  the  Turkish 
Army,  and  as  A.D.C.  to  Sultan  Abdul  Aziz,  came  to  Eng- 
land with  him  when  he  visited  Queen  Victoria  in  the  early 
seventies.  Afterwards  he  acquired  property  in  Delvino, 
and  has  lived  on  it  ever  since  his  retirement  from  the  public 
service.  He  told  me  what  all  other  Mussulmans  had  said, 
that  Greek  government  had  brought  peace  and  tranquillity 
to  the  country,  and  he  hoped  it  had  come  to  stay.  As  to 
Albania,  his  desire  as  a  loyal  IMussulman  was  to  see  a 
strong  State  created,  but  it  should  be  confined  to  Albania, 
and  no  attempt  should  be  made  to  encroach  on  Greek  pre- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  143 

serves.  I  was  much  impressed  with  the  Pasha's  good  sense 
and  wide  vision,  and  I  hope  when  the  Epirotes  form  their 
provisional  government  on  the  18th  January  next  that 
^lehemet  Ah  Pasha  will  be  one  of  its  members. 

"If  there  were  time  I  could  tell  you  the  same  tale  in 
every  town  and  village  I  visited.  At  Arg^'rocastro,  at 
Tepeleni,  at  Klissura,  at  Premeti,  and  in  all  the  villages 
round  these  towns  I  found  the  same  spirit  of  contentment, 
and  the  same  desire  for  Greek  union.  One  village  in  par- 
ticular I  must  mention,  that  of  Hormoven  in  the  Drinos 
valley,  about  three  hours  out  of  Tepeleni.  It  used  to  be  a 
Christian  village  till  the  time  of  Ali  Pasha,  who,  applying 
the  principles  of  the  Koran  in  their  literal  sense,  compelled 
the  villagers  to  choose  between  Islamism  or  death.  Hear- 
ing that  a  foreign  traveller  was  passing  through  their  vil- 
lage the  whole  of  the  men  turned  out,  and  the  head  man 
made  an  impromptu  speech,  saying  the  villagers  were 
Greeks,  not  Albanians,  and  they  wished  to  be  united  with 
their  motherland.  The  visit  was  quite  a  surprise  one ;  the 
speech  was  quite  spontaneous,  and  no  Greek  officials  were 
present. 

"Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  hope  this  and  other  evidence 
which  I  have  brought  before  you  this  evening,  and  which, 
were  there  time,  I  could  multiply  ten-fold  from  data  in 
my  possession,  will  convince  you,  as  it  has  convinced  me, 
that  the  Epirotes  are  Greeks,  not  Albanians,  and  that 
when  INIr.  Bourchier  and  Mr.  Aubrey  Herbert  call  Epirus 
'southern  Albania,'  they  are  calling  it  by  a  name  which 
does  not  belong  to  it,  and  which  the  Epirotes  disown  as  a 
libel  on  their  nationality.  I  beg  you  will  not  misunder- 
stand me.  We  Philhellenes  have  no  quarrel  with  the  Al- 
banians, so  long  as  the  Albanians  don't  quarrel  with  us. 
We  wish  well  to  Albania,  and  we  will  do  all  we  can  to  help 
its  people  to  build  up  a  free,  progressive  and  civihzed  State 
if  it  is  possible  to  do  so,  standing  on  its  own  feet,  and  inde- 
pendent of  outside  support.  The  new  State  shall  have 
fair  play.     We  will  do  as  Mr.  Aubrey  Herbert  wishes  us 


144.         THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

to  do,  and  hold  out  tlie  right  hand  of  friendship.  But 
there  must  be  no  poaching  on  Greek  preserves,  and  Epirus 
is  one  of  those  preserves  and  intends  to  remain  so.  The 
Skumbi  River  is  Albanian,  but  the  Voyussa  River  is 
Greek.  Ali  Pasha  of  Tepeleni  never  went  north  of 
Valona,  nor  did  Scander  Bey  ever  come  south  of  it.  The 
Skumbi  River  is  the  natural  ethnological  boundary  be- 
tween Ghegs  and  Tosks,  who  in  classic  days  were  known 
as  Illyrians  and  Pelasgi,  and  in  modern  days  as  Albanians 
and  Greeks.  Left  to  themselves  the  Albanians  and 
Greeks  would  soon  settle  matters  on  an  ethnological  basis, 
but  the  question  is  unfortunately  complicated  by  the  of- 
ficious interference  of  foreign  propagandists  and  Albanian 
committees  who,  cuckoo-like,  are  encouraging  the  Al- 
banians to  lay  claim  to  land  which  doesn't  w^ant  them,  and 
which  doesn't  belong  to  them.  It  is  bad  enough  to  break 
the  tenth  Commandment,  but  Mr.  Aubrey  Herbert  breaks 
the  ninth  also  when  he  bears  false  witness  against  the 
Greeks  by  accusing  them  of  a  'policy  of  greed,'  because, 
forsooth,  they  lay  claim  to  property  which  always  belonged 
to  them  till  the  Turks  robbed  them  of  it  by  force.  If  the 
Albanians  listen  to  these  law-breaking  counsels  then  there" 
is  nothing  left  for  the  Epirotes  but  to  crj^  'hands  off.' 

"Now  let  us  see  what  the  great  Powers  of  Europe,  who 
have  taken  upon  themselves  the  gi'atuitous  duty  of  settlings 
matters  between  the  Greeks  and  Albanians,  propose.  The 
dotted  line  on  the  map  is  the  answer  to  this  question,  and 
you  will  see  that  it  splits  Epirus  into  two  unequal  halves, 
the  greater  half  going  to  Albania,  the  lesser  half  to  Greece. 
Strategically  this  boundary  line  leaves  Jannina  e?i  Vair, 
cutting  it  off  from  communication  with  the  Adriatic  Sea 
at  Santi  Quaranta,  and  with  the  iEgean  Sea  at  Salonica. 
The  great  trunk  road  from  Santi  Quaranta  to  Korytza, 
running  parallel  to  the  new  frontier  is,  with  a  small  gap 
between  ^Nlissoverfera  and  Delvaki,  which  can  easily  be 
filled  with  a  new  road,  given  to  Albania.  So  is  Tepeleni, 
the  ancient  gateway  into  Epirus,  which  dominates  the  ap- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  145 

proaches  to  the  Jannina  plain  down  the  V^oyussa  River  on 
the  east,  and  the  Drinos  River  on  the  west.     With  the 
central  approaches  from  the  northwest  in  the  hands  of  the 
Albanians,  and  flanks  also  secured  to  them,  a  Greek  army 
based  on  Jannina  would  be  placed  at  an  enormous  strategi- 
cal disadvantage  at  the  opening  of  a  campaign,  so  enor- 
mous that  its  offensive  action  would  be  hopelessly  paralysed 
from  the  start.     We  have  been  told  that  Sir  Edward  Grey 
proposed  this  frontier  as  a  compromise  between  a  big  Al- 
bania and  a  big  Epirus,  and  that  topographical  considera- 
tions   were    alone    taken    into    account    in    drawing    the 
boundary  line.     This  does  not  seem  to  be  exactly  the  way 
to  secure  a  scientific  frontier.     But,  however  that  may  be, 
the  new  boundary  line  places  Jannina  at  the  mercy  of  any 
foreign  or  Albanian  force  which  would  be  concentrated  be- 
fore the  declaration  of  war  on  the  Upper  Voyussa  and 
Drinos  Rivers,  within  easy  striking  distance  of  the  Epirus 
capital.     If  Greece  had  been  forced  down  on  her  knees 
after  fighting  an  unsuccessful  war,  she  could  not  have  had 
harder  terms  offered  for  her  acceptance.     Under  pressure 
from  Europe  the  Greek  Govermnent  may  have,  for  the 
moment,  to  accept  these  terms  officially,  but  government 
humiliation  and  national  humiliation  are  not  always  synony- 
mous terms.     There  is  a  force  behind  all  governments 
which,  in  great  national  crises,  can  be  relied  on  to  assert 
its  power  in  open  defiance  of  constituted  authority.     That 
force  is  the  will  of  the  people.     We  Englishmen  have  some- 
times taught  our  Government  the  strength  of  that  force, 
and,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  Epirotes  intend  to  teach  the  same 
lesson  to  Europe.     If  Governments  propose,  it  is  the  peo- 
ple who  dispose. 

"Where  the  London  Ambassadors'  Conference  made  its 
initial  blunder  was  in  deciding  last  August  to  give  Korytza 
to  Albania,  and  make  Cape  Stylos  the  Adriatic  starting 
point  of  the  new  frontier.  This  decision  begged  the  whole 
question  which  the  International  Commission  was  ap- 
pointed to  investigate  and  prevented  a  boundary  line  being 


146        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

drawn  in  accordance  with  local  ethnological  conditions. 
What  has  now  been  done  is  to  continue  the  line  from  JNIount 
Gramnios,  where  the  Ambassadors'  Conference  left  it,  and 
tlie  quickest  and  nearest  way  of  doing  this  was  that  pro- 
posed by  a  stroke  of  Sir  Edward  Grey's  pen,  and  now  ac- 
cepted by  the  Powers.  The  frontier  as  agreed  meets  Ital- 
ian objections  to  the  Greeks  having  command  of  the 
Straits  of  Corfu,  and  Austrian  objections  to  Albania  being 
<?ut  off  from  direct  access  to  Macedonia  through  Korytza. 
But  it  ignores  the  principle  of  nationality,  and  sets  at  de- 
fiance the  wishes  of  the  people.  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  the 
days  for  artificial  frontiers  have  passed  away.  Racial  in- 
stinct is  stronger  than  strategical  necessity.  Education 
has  opened  the  minds  of  men  and  women  to  possibilities 
which  never  occurred  to  them  as  such  before  they  learned 
to  think  and  were  taught  to  organize.  The  schoolmaster 
is  abroad  in  Epirus  as  elsewhere.  It  is  impossible  to  live 
among  the  Epirotes  as  I  have  done  for  ten  weeks  without 
realizing  the  strength  of  their  will  and  the  courage  of  their 
hearts.  What  impressed  me  more  than  anything  else  in 
the  tour  was  the  spirit  shown  by  the  Epirote  women,  who 
are  more  determined  even  than  the  men,  if  that  were  pos- 
sible, to  keep  their  Greek  nationality.  This  is  one  of  the 
healthiest  and  most  optimistic  factors  of  the  situation,  for 
^vhen  women  are  brave  men  will  be  brave  too.  There  is 
nothing  a  man  prizes  higher  than  the  applause  of  a  good 
woman,  or  fears  more  than  her  blame.  When  he  has  no 
other  motive  he  will  fight  for  her  sake,  and  die  rather  than 
return  to  her  beaten  and  disgraced  in  her  eye.  Look  at 
this  picture  of  two  young  ladies  of  the  upper  class  of  Epi- 
rote society,  smiling,  happy,  joyful,  because  they  know 
that  in  front  of  them  are  standing  men  with  whom  their 
honor  is  in  safe  keeping,  and  who  will  fight  to  the  death 
sooner  than  allow^  them  to  become  national  apostates. 
Here  is  a  picture  of  three  peasant  women  of  Himara, 
strong,  determined,  unyielding,  loving  life,  but  not  fearing 
death  which,  in  their  eyes,  is  preferable  to  dishonor.     And 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFEREXCE  147 

for  an  Epirote  woman,  loss  of  nationality  means  loss  of 
honor,  so  deep  and  firmly  is  the  ancient  Hellenic  spirit 
rooted  in  their  hearts. 

"I  know  nothing  more  touching  than  to  see  these  village 
people  of  Epirus  revelling  in  the  freedom  which  has  come 
to  them  at  last,  after  five  centuries  of  slavery  and  oppres- 
sion. They  simply  cannot  leave  off  dancing  and  singing 
for  joy,  which  is  all  so  hearty,  simple  and  spontaneous, 
that  the  stranger  catches  up  their  spirit  of  thankfulness, 
and  instinctively  thanks  Almighty  God  in  his  heart  that  the 
awful,  desolating,  abominable  curse  of  Turkish  rule  has 
disappeared  from  the  land.  I  shall  never  forget  standing 
at  Korytza,  side  by  side  with  one  of  the  International  Com- 
missioners, who  shall  be  nameless,  and  who  was  watching 
the  scene  passing  in  the  street  below  us.  A  procession  was 
going  by  the  house  in  the  midst  of  which  were  the  girls  of 
the  school,  waving  their  flags  and  singing  national  songs 
of  liberty,  when  one  girl  stopped  before  the  house  and  held 
up  a  scroll  on  which  she  had  embroidered  with  great  labor 
in  letters  of  gold  the  words,  'Enosis  e  Thanatos,'  Union 
or  Death.  She  just  held  up  the  scroll  for  us  to  see,  and 
I  never  can  forget  the  sweet,  gentle,  upturned  face,  majes- 
tic in  its  childishness,  and  beautiful  in  its  innocence,  and 
yet  expressive  of  her  brave  determination  to  suffer,  if  re- 
quired to  do  so,  for  hearth  and  home  and  nationality  and 
faith.  I  could  see  the  tears  stand  in  the  diplomatist's  eyes 
as  he  turned  away  with  the  words,  'I  can  stand  this  no 
longer.  If  I  look  any  more  I  shall  break  down  and  be 
accused  of  being  a  Philhellene.'  Even  diplomacy  has  its 
human  side. 

"I  think  you  will  gather  from  what  I  said  this  evening 
that  the  Epirotes  won't  consent,  on  any  consideration,  to 
become  Albanians,  and  if  the  Powers  try  to  coerce  them 
they  will  resist.  What  chances  have  they  of  success? 
From  what  I  have  seen  of  the  men  and  of  their  country, 
I  am  inclined  to  be  very  optimistic.  In  every  town  and 
village  throughout  Epirus  a  branch  of  the  Epirote  volun- 


148        THE  QUESTIOX  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

teer  force,  known  as  the  Sacred  Legion,  has  been  formed, 
numbers  varying  locally  according  to  the  population.  I 
do  not  exactly  know  the  total  strength  of  this  force,  but  I 
should  put  it  down  as  over  40,000  men  at  this  moment,  with 
numbers  daily  increasing.  The  Sacred  Legion  of  Xorth 
Epirus  is  a  levce  en  masse  of  the  whole  countryside.  I 
have  seen  boys  of  fourteen  and  fifteen  standing  in  the 
ranks  with  men  of  fifty  and  sixty.  The  priest  of  the  vil- 
lage is  always  present  whenever  there  is  a  parade  of  the 
volunteers.  The  Greek  Orthodox  Church  is  a  church  mili- 
tant, and  its  priests  are  as  good  fighters  as  any  of  the  lay 
members  of  the  Sacred  Legion.  The  Premeti  and  Argy- 
rocastro  battalions  are  composed  of  as  fine  a  body  of  fight- 
ing men  as  there  are  in  Europe. 

"As  previously  pointed  out,  the  Tepeleni-Klissura  posi- 
tion in  the  center  section  of  the  frontier  is  one  of  great 
strategical  importance  and  tactical  strength,  and  if  Colonel 
Joanno,  who  now  commands  at  Argyrocastro,  and  was 
chief  of  staff  to  General  Sapundzaki  in  the  advance  on 
Jannina,  resigns  his  commission  in  the  Greek  Army  and 
takes  command  of  the  Epirote  forces  at  this  point,  I  don't 
think  any  force  which  the  Albanian  Government  could  put 
into  the  field,  even  with  the  help  of  better  officers,  would 
break  through  the  line  of  defence.  The  position  could  be 
held  with  a  comparatively  small  force,  while  the  bulk  of 
the  men  in  the  Drinos  Valley  could  be  sent  to  Himara  to 
give  a  hand  to  Spirimilos.  The  northern  section  of  the 
frontier  is  the  most  secure  on  account  of  its  distance  from 
the  sea,  its  propinquity  to  the  Servian  frontier,  and  its 
inaccessibility  from  the  west.  There  are  five  thousand 
well-trained  men  of  the  Sacred  Legion  in  the  Korytza  dis- 
trict alone,  and  even  if  they  get  no  help  from  other  parts 
of  Epirus,  they  are  numerous  and  strong  enough,  with 
their  local  knowledge  of  the  country,  to  hold  their  own 
against  any  Albanian  force  which  could  reach  them  from 
Berat.  A  foreign  force,  if  it  came  in  great  strength,  might 
succeed  in  reaching  the  district,  but  not  till  after  the  inter- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  149 

vening  country  between  it  and  the  sea  had  been  subju- 
gated, and  when  this  force  reached  Korytza  it  would  only 
be  to  find  its  houses  burned  to  the  ground  and  the  whole 
land  laid  waste  by  the  inhabitants.  We  may  depend  upon 
it  that  if  the  Epirotes  are  forced  to  fight  they  will  fight  to 
a  finish.  Colonel  Contoulis  is  the  Greek  Governor  of 
Korytza,  and  a  man  of  great  administrative  ability  as  well 
as  a  brave  soldier.  I  asked  him  what  he  would  do  if  the 
Greek  Government  withdrew  from  Korytza  and  the  Al- 
banians attacked  it.  He  said  as  long  as  he  was  a  Greek 
officer  he  could  not  answer  my  question,  but  I  might  take 
it  from  him  that  as  he  had  been  a  fighting  man  all  his  life, 
he  was  not  likely  to  be  far  awaj"  if  Korytza  was  threatened 
by  any  foreign  enemy. 

"Are  these  facts  known  to  the  great  Powers  of  Europe, 
or,  knowing  them,  do  they  intend  to  force  their  decision 
in  defiance  of  the  will  of  the  people?  If  they  do,  then  what 
w^ill  become  of  the  principle  of  nationality  which  was  the 
raison  d'etre  for  ordering  the  Montenegrins  out  of  Scutari, 
and  the  Servians  out  of  Durazzo?  'The  principle  of  na- 
tionality,' said  the  jSIarquis  de  San  Giuliano,  the  other  day, 
'is  the  glory  and  strength  of  Italy.'  So  it  is.  But  how 
can  Italy,  justify  and  logically  deny  to  others  what  is  a 
glory  and  strength  to  herself?  Unless  wiser  counsels  pre- 
vail, this  is  the  rock  on  which  the  Concert  of  Europe  will 
split,  and  this  is  why  I  think  we  can  be  optimists  in  regard 
to  Epirus.  The  Epirotes  have  their  future  in  their  own 
hands,  because  they  know  their  duty  and  intend  to  do  it. 
They  are  confident  because  they  are  strong,  and  they  are 
strong  because  they  are  right.  That  England,  the  Eng- 
land of  Canning,  of  Byron,  and  of  Gladstone  should  either 
by  her  own  action,  or  by  giving  a  mandate  to  others,  help 
to  shoot  down  people  'rightly  struggling  to  be  free'  is 
unthinkable.  England  is  strong  enough  to  carry  France 
and  Russia  with  her  if,  indeed,  any  persuasion  were  nec- 
essary. Will  Austria  authorise  Italy  to  act  alone?  I 
think  not.     Will  Italv  act  without  a  mandate  either  from 


150        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Europe  or  her  allies?  I  think  not.  For  if  she  were  to 
break  away  from  the  Concert  of  Euro-pe  and  play  for  her 
own  hand,  she  would  stand  on  perilous  ground  and  provoke 
a  resistance  which  it  might  not  be  possible  to  locahse  in 
Epirus.  In  any  case,  the  Epirotes'  course  is  clear,  to  keep 
the  flag  flying,  no  matter  who  tries  to  haul  it  down,  rely- 
ing always  on  the  justice  of  their  cause,  on  the  moral 
sympathy  of  all  right  thinking  people,  and,  above  all,  on 
the  strength  of  their  own  arms.     Beati  possidentes." 


APPENDIX  B 

Communication  of  ^Ie.  C.  S.  Butler  to  the  "Man- 
chester Guardian"  on  September  30th,  1914, 
ON  Northern  Epirus 

"I  have  read  in  the  Guardian  of  July  22nd  of  shocking 
atrocities  alleged  to  have  been  committed  against  Al- 
banians by  Epirotes.  Having  served  as  a  British  war- 
correspondent  both  in  Macedonia  and  Epirus  in  1912  and 
1913,  I  feel  constrained  in  the  interests  of  truth  to  rebut 
these  charges,  which  are  either  wholly  untrue,  or  grossly 
exaggerated.  Mr.  Aubrey  Herbert  is  a  brave  and  honor- 
able man,  and  I  quite  believe  that  he  and  that  plucky  Eng- 
lish lady,  Miss  Edith  Durham,  spread  these  tales  in  per- 
fect good  faith,  on  the  strength  of  the  testimony  of  Al- 
banian refugees  and  residents  at  Valona  and  Durazzo. 
But  they  make  a  veiy  great  mistake  in  launching  these 
horrors  in  the  British  press  without  having  verified  them  by 
a  visit  to  the  locality  itself.  I  happen  to  know  that  Mr. 
Herbert  has  repeatedly  been  invited  to  visit  the  Epirote 
borderland,  in  which  these  atrocities  are  alleged  to  have 
been  committed,  but  he  has  not  gone.  Miss  Durham  has 
apparently  only  made  one  hurried  visit  to  Korytza  since  the 
journey  which  forms  the  subject  of  her  well-known  little 
book,  and  on  which,  to  judge  from  that  same  book,  she 
succeeded  in  traveling  the  northern  fringe  of  Epirus  with- 
out coming  in  contact  with  a  single  Greek  inhabitant!  Is 
it  fair,  then,  to  condemn  the  Epirotes  unheard,  when  noth- 
ing would  have  been  easier  than  to  verify  the  truth  of  the 
astounding  tales  related  in  the  Manchester  Guardian  and 
brought  up  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  July  28th  ? 

"To  take  up  the  various  allegations  seriatim:     It  is 
wholly  and  absolutely  untrue  to  say  that  'Greece  is  carry- 

151 


152        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

ing  out  her  deliberate  plan  of  destroying  and  evicting  the 
Albanian  population  (of  N.  Epirus)  with  a  view  to  an- 
nexing the  land,'  and  that  'the  Greek  army'  has  invaded 
tlie  land  of  the  refugees  now  crowded  in  Avlona.  In  the 
first  place,  Greece  is  at  present  completely  outside  of  X. 
Epirus,  which  she  evacuated  last  February;  she  has  neither 
troops  nor  officials  in  that  district,  now  or  at  any  time  since 
the  date  of  that  evacuation.  The  author  therefore  of  these 
statements  can  only  mean  to  say  that  Greek  troops  and 
officials  are  working  along  the  lines  he  indicates  in  a  secret 
and  unofficial  manner.  That  the  Greek  army,  officers  and 
soldiers,  are  to  a  man  in  keen  sympathy  with  the  Epirotes 
is  a  well  known  fact.  It  is  also  well  known  that  a  small 
number  of  Greek  officers  (not  exceeding  30) ,  most  of  them 
natives  of  N.  Epirus,  have  deserted  to  the  Epirote  camp 
with  perhaps  a  couple  of  hundred  of  the  rank  and  file. 
In  one  case  a  half-battery  of  machine  guns,  commanded 
by  a  lieutenant  of  Epirote  origin,  when  the  evacuation  of 
Eiaskoviki  was  ordered  by  the  Greek  Government,  bolted 
into  the  nearest  mountains  and  joined  the  Epirote  in- 
surgents. It  is  also  true  that  Cretan  volunteers,  to  a  total 
of  about  300,  found  their  way  to  Northern  Epirus,  mostly 
in  small  sailing  vessels.  A  small  band  of  Greek  'Gari- 
baldians'  was  also  equipped  by  the  late  Count  Roma  and 
took  part  in  the  fighting  on  the  Argjn-ocastro  frontier. 
That  is  the  sum  total  of  outside  help  that  the  Epirotes  have 
received  from  any  part  of  Greece,  and  that  in  direct  de- 
fiance of  the  orders  and  well  defined  policy  of  the  Greek 
government,  which  proceeded  to  extremes  that  no  Greek 
Government  has  ever  yet  dared  to  apply  in  opposing  what 
was  unmistakably  the  popular  will.  To  begin  with,  the 
Greek  troops,  in  evacuating  N.  Epirus,  were  careful  to 
take  with  them  all  the  army  stores,  guns,  ammunition,  etc. 
Even  the  Turkish  guns  captured  at  Korytsa  and  Argj^ro- 
castro  during  the  Balkan  War,  which  could  easily  have 
been  'overlooked'  were  carried  away;  and  at  Georgoutsates, 
the     junction     of     the     Argyrocastro-Delvino-Jannina 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  153 

routes,  the  Greek  troops  actually  fired  upon  a  party  of 
Epirotes  who  attempted  to  prevent  the  transfer  of  the 
military  stores  thence,  and  killed  seven  and  w^ounded 
thirty,  including  two  women.  That  does  not  look  much 
like  connivance;  and  yet  the  firing  party  were  distinctly 
in  sympathy  with  the  Epirotes  and  only  obeyed  orders. 
The  Greek  officers  and  privates  who  deserted  to  the  Epi- 
rotes have  been  proclaimed  deserters  and  stricken  from  the 
roster;  a  company  of  Evzones,  who  with  their  captain  and 
non-coms,  broke  away  and  started  to  join  the  Epirotes, 
were  rounded  up  and  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprison- 
ment. 

"More  than  this,  Mr.  Venizelos,  with  his  characteristic 
vehemence,  did  all  he  could  to  discourage  and  browbeat  the 
Epirote  insurrection  against  Europe's  fiat;  and  in  the 
Greek  Chamber  publicly  predicted  disaster  for  their  un- 
dertaking— a  prediction  which  has  proved  utterly  mis- 
taken. He  even  went  so  far  as  to  lay  hands  upon  and  turn 
to  the  use  of  the  Greek  Government  a  donation  of  £10,000 
sent  by  a  rich  Epirote  of  America  for  the  insurgent  cause 
— a  thing  that,  strictly  speaking,  the  Greek  Premier  had 
no  right  to  do — and  the  writer,  in  the  Greek  Foreign 
Office,  was  an  unwitting  auditor  of  a  violent  altercation 
between  INIr.  Venizelos  and  Mr.  Zographos,  in  which  the 
latter  was  told  in  so  many  words  that  official  Greece  con- 
sidered him  well  nigh  a  traitor  to  the  interests  of  Greece 
because  he  had  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Epirote 
insurrection.  Again,  only  the  other  day  a  cadet  of  the 
Military  School  at  Athens,  named  Zoupas,  a  native  of 
Chimara,  who  six  months  ago  deserted  to  go  and  fight 
for  his  native  land  against  the  Albanians,  was  there 
severely  wounded  and  is  now  just  out  of  hospital,  has 
been  refused  readmittance  to  the  school  and  thus  has  for- 
feited his  military  career. 

"I  could  mention  other  similar  cases;  but  the  forefroino" 
suffice  to  show  how  absurd  it  is  to  say  that  official  Greece 
has  in  any  way  abetted  the  Epirote  insurrection.     On  the 


154        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

contrary,  JNIr.  Venizelos  has  sacrificed  no  small  portion  of 
his  popularity  in  his  attempts  to  forestall  that  movement 
and  after  its  outbreak  to  cut  it  off  from  all  material  aid. 
If  he  has  not  succeeded,  it  is  certainly  not  his  fault. 

"The  armed  forces,  which  the  Epirotes  have  disposed 
of  in  this  insurrection,  are,  with  the  exceptions  enumerated 
above,  entirely  native — Hierolochita?,  or  local  militia, 
organized  originally  by  the  Greek  Government  to  serve  as 
a  local  gendarmerie,  before  there  was  any  question  of 
giving  up  N.  Epirus.  This  militia  adopted  a  khaki  uni- 
form very  similar  to  that  of  the  Greek  infantiy;  hence  the 
tale,  which  recently  went  forth,  that  Korytsa  was  retaken 
by  Greek  regulars. 

"The  non-Epirote  bands  have  now  been  disbanded  by 
IMr.  Zographos,  because  they  were  elements  of  danger 
rather  than  of  strength  to  the  Autonomous  administration 
and,  it  must  be  admitted,  often  got  out  of  hand.  But  why 
should  Greeks  and  Cretans  have  any  less  right  to  go  to  the 
aid  of  their  kinsmen  of  Epirus  than  the  Italian,  Austrian, 
Turkish,  Rumanian  and  even  Bulgarian  volunteers  (1 
do  not  wish  to  say  adventurers)  who  joined  the  Albanian 
ranks  by  the  hundreds?  We  have  seen  no  sarcasms  in  the 
British  press  against  the  participation  of  these  latter  ele- 
ments in  a  quarrel  which  did  not  in  the  least  concern  them. 
Europe  looked  on  complacently  enough  while  dozens  of 
Turkish  officers  (not  Albanians)  enlisted  openly  in  the 
Albanian  forces  against  the  Epirotes.  By  a  strange  irony 
of  fate,  it  is  these  same  Turks  that  have  led  the  Albanian 
Mussulman  insurgents  to  victory  against  Prince  Wied 
and  the  various  authorities  set  up  by  Europe  in  Albania, 
and  are  now  threatening  to  re-establish  the  blighting  Mos- 
lem rule  in  a  countiy  from  whence  it  had  been  swept  by 
the  Balkan  War. 

"Then  as  to  the  'atrocities.'  That  dozens  of  villages  in 
X.  Epirus  are  today  in  ashes  is  a  melancholy  fact.  That 
much  blood  has  been  shed,  solely  because  Europe  (or  rather 
let  us  say,  Austria  and  Italy)  insisted  upon  forcibly  an- 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  155 

nexing  the  Epirotes  to  Albania,  is  no  less  indisputable. 
But  all  foreign  correspondents  who  have  personally  visited 
Epirus  within  the  past  months,  know  nothing  of  these 
wholesale  massacres  of  women  and  childi'en  which  Avlona 
has  been  so  busily  reporting  to  foreign  lands.  There  has 
been  much  cruelty  in  the  fighting  between  Epirotes  and 
Albanians.  All  wars  are  cruel  and  Balkan  wars  excep- 
tionally so,  owing  to  the  long  standing  racial  hatreds  and 
the  demoralizing  influence  of  centuries  of  Turkish  rule, 
which  has  never  been  anything  but  the  most  fiendish 
cruelty  the  world  has  perhaps  known. 

"But  certain  facts  must  be  borne  in  mind  and  insisted 
upon:  First,  that  the  villages  destroyed  have  been  de- 
stroyed in  battle — some  of  them  taken  and  re-taken  in  the 
fiercest  fighting,  when  the  wildest  human  passions  are  un- 
chained. Secondly,  that  a  tabulation  of  these  destroyed 
villages  shows  a  larger  proportion  of  Christian  than  of 
Mussulman  losses.  And  in  making  this  statement,  I  do 
not  include  the  many  Christian  villages  of  the  Zagori  dis- 
trict, which  were  wantonly  destroyed  by  the  JNIussuhnan 
Albanians  during  the  Balkan  War,  long  before  the  fall  of 
Jannina.  In  fact,  village  burning  and  looting  has  been  a 
favorite  occupation  of  the  Albanians  (the  Mussulmans,  of 
course,  since  the  Christians  were  then  little  better  than 
slaves)  in  Epirus  since  before  Ali  Pasha's  days;  a  note- 
worthy example  is  the  sack  of  Moschopolis  in  1770  and 
Argyrocastro  in  1771,  when  the  population  of  these  Chris- 
tian towns  was  driven  out  e7i  masse.  And  thus  a  heritage 
of  hate  has  been  handed  down  from  veneration  to  orenera- 
tion,  of  which  tourists  like  ^liss  Durham  and  Mr.  Aubrey 
Herbert  know  nothing.  Thirdly,  that  the  Epirotes  of 
Northern  Epirus  have  been  on  the  defensive  and  the  Al- 
banians on  the  offensive,  ever  since  Europe  issued  her  final 
decision  that  N.  Epirus  was  to  go  to  Albania.  The  Al- 
banians began  massing  on  the  borderline  long  before  the 
Greek  evacuation,  in  order  to  'rush'  the  ceded  territory; 
and  from  the  moment  of  that  evacuation  they  have  kept 


156        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

up  an  unceasing  succession  of  onslaughts  upon  the  Epirote 
positions,  in  many  places  forcing  the  Epirotes  back  step 
by  stej),  until  it  seemed  their  defence  would  be  completely 
broken  down.  Kodra  and  Humelitsa,  where  it  is  alleged 
that  the  Epirotes  'crucified'  some  jNIussulmans  (though  no 
one  in  Epirus  or  in  Greece  ever  heard  of  crucifixion  be- 
fore as  a  means  of  revenge,  especiall}^  as  applied  by  Chris- 
tians to  ^Moslems,  while  there  have  been  many  such  cases, 
as  applied  by  Moslems  to  Christians,  during  the  Greek 
War  of  Independence),  are  two  villages  on  the  Argyro- 
castro  border,  which  were  taken  and  re-taken  at  the  bay- 
onet's point  four  times  by  Albanians  and  Epirotes.  Is  it 
surprising  that  such  villages  should  be  today  a  heap  of 
ashes,  and  that  some  acts  of  savagery  should  have  been 
committed  by  either  side?  And  if  the  ^loslem  villages  of 
the  Kolonia  and  Frasseri  districts  suffered  heavily  in  the 
fighting,  the  Christian  villages  of  the  Delvino  district,  al- 
most down  to  Santi  Quaranta,  can  tell  an  equally  distress- 
ing tale  of  the  sudden  inroad  of  the  Albanians  in  April 
last,  while  the  Christian  villages  of  the  upper  Devol  valley 
(east  of  Korytsa)  were  nearly  wiped  out  by  the  Albanian 
regulars,  whom  their  Dutch  officers  found  themselves 
powerless  to  restrain. 

"The  British  public  are  harrowed  by  pictures  of  the 
distress  of  the  Albanian  refugees  crowded  together  in 
Avlona ;  and  no  doubt  that  distress  is  very  real  and  w^orthy 
of  every  effort  at  alleviation.  But  nothing  is  said  of  the 
20,000  refugees  from  the  Delvino  district,  who  were  until 
quite  recently  huddled  together  at  Corfu,  nor  of  the  32.000 
refugees  who  crowded  into  the  Greek  lines  within  tliree 
days  from  the  Argyrocastro  and  Premeti  districts  upon  the 
big  Albanian  onslaught  in  April  last,  nor  yet  of  the  12,000 
refugees  from  the  Korytsa  district  at  Biglista,  Pisoderi 
and  Castoria.  Who  will  undertake  to  say  that  the  misery 
and  destitution  of  these  Christian  refugees  is  a  whit  less 
distressing  than  that  of  the  INIoslems  at  xVvlona? 

"The  friends   and   'protectors'  of  Albania  have  been 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  157 

1)11  sily  sowing  the  wind,  and  now  make  loud  outcn^  upon 
finding  that  they,  or  rather  the  unhappy  land  itself,  is 
reaping  the  whirlwind.  The  attempt  to  coerce  the  Epi- 
rotes  into  subjection  and  annexation  to  Albania  was  the 
first  and  fundamental  wrong,  which  has  brought  all  these 
sufferings  upon  Epirotes  and  Albanians.  For,  in  spite  of 
]Mr.  Aubrey  Herbert  and  INIiss  Durham,  in  defiance  of  the 
brute  force  brought  to  bear  upon  N.  Epirus  and  upon 
Greece  by  Europe,  Epirus  is  not  Albanian  but  Greek,  and 
every  succeeding  month  only  brings  this  fact  out  more 
clearly. 

"I  have  been  over  the  whole  country  from  Monastir  to 
Santi  Quaranta  and  from  Argyrocastro  to  Jannina,  with 
an  eye  to  this  question  in  particular.  And  if  some  allow- 
ance must  be  made  for  the  unwillingness  of  the  Moslem 
minority  to  speak  out  its  true  thoughts  in  the  presence  of 
the  Epirote  authorities,  still  the  schools,  if  nothing  else, 
are  enough  to  convince  any  fair  minded  obsen^er  that  the 
Epirotes  are  Greeks,  even  if  their  women  speak  Albanian 
in  their  homes.  At  Korytsa  where  my  visit  coincided  with 
that  of  the  Greek  Crown  Prince  in  May  of  last  year,  I 
witnessed  a  parade  of  2,125  Greek  school  children  of  both 
sexes,  from  five  years  up  to  sixteen,  who  beamed  with  joy 
and  pride  as  they  filed  past  the  Prince  cheering  and  waving 
their  little  Greek  flags.  The  same  day  I  witnessed  an 
enthusiastic  parade  of  the  women  of  the  town,  foremost 
among  whom  I  noticed  my  own  hostess,  who  habitually 
speaks  Albanian  in  her  own  home.  I  find  it  hard  to  believe 
that  these  1900  women,  all  of  whom  were  respectable  mid- 
dle-class matrons,  were  secretly  pining  for  the  delights  of 
Albanian  rule  and  were  driven  to  this  demonstration  at  the 
point  of  the  Greek  bayonet.  Indeed,  I  can  testify  to  the 
fact  that  it  almost  required  the  bayonet  to  persuade  them 
to  disperse  after  the  celebration!  And  yet  we  have  been 
assured  for  years,  by  Miss  Durham  and  other  Albanian 
sympathisers,  that  Korytsa  is  the  intellectual  and  educa- 
tional center  of  the  Albanian  race !     The  only  traces  of  an 


158        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

Albanian  educational  movement  I  was  able  to  discover 
there  were  a  small  Albanian  printing  press,  established 
imder  foreign  encouragement  some  years  ago  and  now  no 
longer  in  operation,  and  an  Albanian  school  for  girls, 
founded  and  carried  on  by  American  missionaries,  with 
some  60  pupils,  recruited  from  the  whole  province  of 
Korytsa. 

"I  am  not  a  Greek  and  am  certainly  not  unfriendly  with 
the  Albanians  and  their  legitimate  aspirations.  But  I 
have  more  than  once,  in  my  conversations  with  Albanians 
even  before  the  Balkan  War,  been  impressed  with  their 
boundless  nationalistic  ambitions.  They  would,  if  they 
could,  have  claimed  not  only  N.  Macedonia,  where  they  are 
really  strong,  but  also  N.  and  S.  Epirus  down  to  the  Am- 
bracian  Gulf,  Monastir,  Castoria,  Verria  and  some  even 
Salonica!  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  in  1880  Jannina 
and  Korytsa  were  lopped  off  from  the  territory  awarded 
to  Greece  by  the  Berlin  Treaty,  chiefly  through  the  efforts 
of  the  Albanian  League  in  Italy.  So  today  their  sympa- 
thizers claim  Korytsa  and  N.  Epirus  for  Albania  on  the 
ground  that  the  women  speak  Albanian  (it  is  not  disputed 
that  the  men  and  children  speak  also  Greek).  Yet  it  is 
not  difficult  to  show  that  the  language  test  is  an  absurd 
one.  Amongst  the  most  fanatical  Greek-haters  are  the 
Mussulmans  of  Crete  and  of  INIargariti  (in  S.  Epirus)  ; 
yet  their  only  language  is  Greek  and  they  are  undoubtedly 
Greek  in  origin.  But  to  classify  them  as  Greeks  would 
be  unfair  and  would  arouse  their  vehement  resentment. 
Again,  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Greeks  of  Cappa- 
docia  and  Cilicia,  who  speak  nothing  but  Turkish,  cannot 
be  classified  as  Turks,  nor  the  Pomaks  of  Thrace,  whose 
language  is  Bulgarian,  as  Bulgars.  And  on  the  other 
hand  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that,  if  in  N.  Epirus  the 
home  language  is  largely  Albanian,  the  written  and  com- 
mercial language  is,  and  always  has  been,  Greek,  even 
under  Turkish  rule.  Even  the  most  fanatical  Albanian 
traders  keep  their  accounts  in  Greek.     At  Arg\'rocastro 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  159 

I  was  much  impressed  to  see  that  the  notables  of  Libo- 
chovo,  a  fanatical  jNIoslem  stronghold  across  the  valley, 
sign  their  names  habitually  in  Greek.  All  the  extant  let- 
ters, decrees  and  orders  of  Ali  Pasha,  who  certainly  could 
not  be  accused  of  favoring  the  Greeks,  are  in  Greek ;  which 
clearly  prove  two  things :  That  Greek  was  the  only  writ- 
ten language  used  in  Epirus  in  his  day,  and  that  it  must 
have  been  generally  understood  and  spoken  by  the  people 
of  Epirus. 

"It  is  not  the  language,  therefore,  but  the  sentiment  of 
a  people  that  determines  its  national  character.  And  N. 
Epirus  has  for  many  generations  expressed  its  national 
sentiment  with  no  uncertain  sound.  To  pass  over  the 
flourishing  Greek  institutions  of  learning  at  Jannina  in  the 
17th  and  18th  centuries,  which  kept  alive  Greek  letters 
and  Greek  aspirations  in  those  dark  days  and  which  were 
supported  entirely  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  Epi- 
rotes,  and  coming  down  to  the  present  age,  Athens  is  full 
of  splendid  public  buildings,  gifts  of  Northern  Epirotes. 
The  magnificent  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  and  Astronomical 
Observatory  were  given  by  Sinas  of  Moschopolis  (near 
Korytsa).  Bangas,  of  Korytsa,  left  a  building  worth 
£20,000  as  a  bequest  to  the  Greek  Xavy  Fund.  The 
Zappa  brothers  who  endowed  Athens  with  her  Exposition 
grounds  and  Constantinople  with  her  biggest  Greek  High 
School  for  Girls,  hailed  from  Lambovo,  north  of  Argyro- 
castro.  Zographos,  the  father  of  the  President  of  the  Epi- 
rote  Government,  founder  of  a  large  Greek  school  at  Con- 
stantinople and  of  the  Prize  Fund  for  the  Encouragement 
of  Greek  Studies  at  Paris,  was  a  native  of  Droviani. 
Averoff,  the  donor  of  the  Greek  battleship  bearing  his 
name  and  of  the  splendid  Panathenaic  Stadium,  and 
Tositsa  and  Stournara,  who  endowed  Athens  with  its  fine 
Polytechnic  School,  were  natives  of  Metsovo.  I  pass  over 
a  long  list  of  lesser  patriotic  gifts  and  endowments  by  Epi- 
rotes to  Greece  or  for  patriotic  Greek  aims. 

"That  the  Epirotes  are  not  Albanians  but  Greeks  is  now 


160        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

admitted,  not  only  by  all  who  visit  their  land,  but  by  the 
very  same  Great  Powers  that  tore  them  from  their  natural 
mother  a  year  ago.  The  very  fact  that  the  International 
Control  Commission  of  Albania  proposed  and  carried  on 
the  recent  negotiations  with  the  Epirote  Revolutionaiy 
Government,  which  resulted  in  the  Protocol  of  Corfu  in 
May  last,  is  practically  an  admission  on  the  part  of  Europe 
that  the  Epirotes  are  not  Albanians  and  that  the  decision 
to  annex  them  to  Albania  was  purely  and  simply  an  act  of 
injustice  and  temerity  which  had  to  be  revised.  The  subse- 
quent act  of  the  Great  Powers,  in  officially  notifying  the 
Greek  Government  that  they  had  accepted  and  ratified  the 
Corfu  Protocol,  was  a  distinct  recognition  of  the  special 
interest  of  Greece  in  N.  Epirus;  it  is  also  noteworthy  that 
in  that  notification  the  Powers  style  the  population  of  the 
debated  land  'Epirotes'  and  not  as  heretofore  'Southern 
Albanians.' 

"This  tardy  recognition  of  the  true  situation  in  X. 
Epirus  is  due  solely  to  the  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  of 
the  Epirotes  themselves  to  their  national  aspirations — to 
the  gallant  and  bloody  resistance  they  offered  in  defence 
of  their  right  to  shape  their  own  political  destinies.  That 
much  suffering  resulted  to  both  sides  in  the  course  of  this 
resistance  was  but  natural.  That  excesses  were  committed 
by  both  sides  in  the  heat  of  the  conflict  is  a  sad  fact,  but  a 
fact  that  only  dreamers  and  ignorant  Utopians  could  be 
surprised  at — a  fact,  in  fine,  whose  counterpart  is  to  be 
found  in  the  history  of  every  people  and  of  every  age. 
And  I  cannot  but  consider  it  as  smacking  of  hypocrisy  to 
raise  an  outcry  against  the  Epirotes  on  this  score,  while 
ignoring  the  corresponding  wrongs  on  the  part  of  their 
enemies,  the  flagrant  provocation  in  the  shameless  violation 
of  their  divine  right  to  decide  their  own  destinies,  and  last, 
but  not  least,  the  centuries  of  inherited  passions  which  the 
blight  of  Turkish  rule  engendered  and  gi-afted  upon  the 
two  kindred  races  which  meet  on  the  borders  of  Albania 
and  Epirus. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  161 

"Again  I  say,  that  the  tales  of  Epirote  'atrocities' 
pahiied  off  by  Avlona  refugees  upon  unsuspecting  Eng- 
lishmen and  Englishwomen  must  be  heavily  discounted, 
and  that  whatever  residuum  of  truth  may  be  found  at  the 
bottom  of  these  reports  (which  are  as  yet  unconfirmed  by 
any  reliable  and  impartial  eye-witnesses)  is  due  to  the  heat 
of  conflict,  to  the  memories  of  long-standing  wrongs  and 
to  the  just  wrath  of  the  Epirotes  at  being  bartered  like 
cattle.  If  anyone  is  to  blame,  it  is  chiefly  and  foremost  the 
Great  Powers  of  Europe,  that  deliberately  sacrificed  the 
rights  of  the  Epirotes  to  their  own  selfish  interests  and 
jealousies,  and  to  their  fear  of  international  complications. 
And  it  is,  perhaps,  a  piece  of  Divine  retribution  that  those 
very  complications  have  not  been  long  in  overtaking  them." 


APPENDIX  C 

Communication  to  the  "Daily  Chronicle"  of  April 

7, 1914,  BY  Mr.  Z.  D.  Ferriman,  Author  of  "Home 

Life  in  Hellas"  and  "Turkey  and  the  Turks" 

"Arg\a-ocastro,  INIarch  27. 

"  'I  am  Secretary  to  the  jNlinister  of  War,'  said  a  young 
man  in  uniform.  Another  referred  to  M.  Zographos  as 
the  Prime  ^linister.  AVhen  I  saw  M.  Karapanos,  who  has 
been  designated  as  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  he  said, 
'Call  us  an  Executive  Committee  acting  as  a  Provisional 
Government.  We  do  not  pretend  to  hold  portfolios  or 
aspire  to  Cabinet  rank.  I  am  deputed  to  take  charge  of 
our  relations  with  the  world  outside  because  I  have  been 
15  years  in  the  Diplomatic  Service  and  am  familiar  with 
the  work.  No,  I  was  not  brought  up  in  England;  but  it 
is  the  first  tongue  I  learned  to  speak.'  This,  in  reply  to  a 
question  prompted  by  his  perfect  command  of  English: 
'I  am  an  Epirote  born,  and  Deputy  in  the  Greek  Chamber 
for  a  division  in  Southern  Epirus,  which  has  long  been 
ours.' 

"I  remembered  having  lived  in  Constantinople  close  to 
a  large  high  school  called  the  Zographion,  and  I  asked  ]M. 
Zographos  if  the  name  had  any  relation  to  his  family. 
'My  father  founded  it,'  he  said.  'He  was  born  in  that 
village  yonder,'  and  he  pointed  to  a  speck,  twinkling  'like 
a  grain  of  salt'  high  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain  which 
walls  in  the  Drinos  Valley  eastward.  Then  I  knew  I  was 
speaking  to  the  son  of  Christaki  Effendi  Zographos,  whose 
name  is  a  household  word  in  Constantinople.  The  Zogra- 
phion is  one  of  many  benefactions.     Not  a  few  men  who 

162 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  163 

have  risen  to  distinction  owe  their  studies  in  Europe  to  his 
generosity.  I  did  not  know  before  that  he  was  an  Epirote ; 
but  the  fact  explained  to  me  why  his  son  had  taken  up  the 
cause." 

The  ''Cabinet"  of  E pirns 

"Colonel  Douhs,  who  has  charge  of  the  Military  Depart- 
ment and  commands  the  forces,  was  born  at  Nivitza,  in  the 
Chimara  district.  He  went  through  both  Ihe  ^Macedonian 
and  Epirus  campaigns,  was  wounded  at  Bizani,  and  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  bravery.  The  Metropolitan  of 
Argyrocastro,  Vasilios,  was  born  at  Labano,  a  mountain 
village  a  few  miles  north  of  this.  He  studied  at  the  famous 
Theological  College  on  the  Isle  of  Halki,  near  Constan- 
tinople, was  Professor  at  the  Gymnasium  of  Serres,  then 
at  Adrianople,  then  Bishop  of  Daphnorissia,  and  success- 
ively Metropohtan  of  Paramythia,  Avlona,  and  Argja-o- 
castro,  whither  he  came  in  1909.  He  has  charge  of  the 
Department  of  Religion  and  Justice. 

"The  Metropolitan  of  Konitza,  who  has  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants,  has  been 
appointed  to  the  direction  of  Home  Affairs.  This  is  the 
composition  of  what  the  inhabitants  of  Argyrocastro  de- 
light to  consider  the  "Cabinet"  of  Epirus  and  a  Govern- 
ment it  undoubtedly  is,  for  no  other  authority  exists. 

We  are  nominally  in  the  new  principahty  of  Albania, 
which  extends  to  the  Greek  frontier,  the  nearest  point  of 
which  is  at  Yorgotsatis,  some  12  miles  south.  But,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  are  an  autonomous  State,  bounded  on 
the  south  by  the  Greek  frontier,  and  on  the  north  by  an 
indeterminate  limit  extending  as  far  as  the  mihtary  zone, 
which  includes  posts  at  Leskoviko  and  Premeti.  It  runs 
down  to  the  sea  at  Santi-Quaranta,  where  we  are  blockaded 
by  the  Greek  fleet,  and  follows  the  coast  as  far  north  as 
Chimara.  In  an  unpretentious  house,  with  a  shingle  roof, 
reminding  one  of  the  Cotswolds,  lives  ]M.  Zographos,  and 
here  what  may  be  termed  Cabinet  Councils  are  held. 


164        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

A  little  lower  clown  the  steep,  narrow  street  is  the  resi- 
dence of  the  jNIetropolitan,  and  these  together  form  the 
seat  of  Government.  A  youthful  soldier  mounts  guard 
at  the  door.  He  is  one  of  the  hoys  from  the  senior  class 
of  the  Gymnasium  of  Jannina.  There  are  80  of  these 
youths  here  from  various  schools.  They  are  distinguished 
hy  a  gold  hand  around  the  hlack  skull  cap  which  is  the 
national  Epirote  headgear.  There  is  little  formality  in 
the  proceedings.  The  Council  Chamher  serves  as  a  dining 
room. 

The  Man  of  the  Hour 

The  man  of  the  hour,  M.  Zographos,  has  a  keen,  kindly 
countenance,  and  years  have  not  dimmed  the  light  in  his 
dark  eyes.  Extremely  simple  in  manner,  he  talks  well 
and  to  the  point.  He  speaks  French  like  a  Parisian,  for 
he  not  only  made  his  studies  in  Paris,  but  lived  there  many 
years.  He  was  INIinister  for  Foreign  Affairs  during  the 
JVIinistry  of  M.  Ralli,  and  Governor-General  of  Epirus 
after  the  war,  but  he  does  not  profess  to  be  a  keen  poli- 
tician. He  is  more  interested  in  agrarian  questions,  in 
which  he  is  deeply  versed.  The  name  of  M.  Karapanos 
was  familiar  to  me  through  his  father's  excavations  on 
the  site  of  Dodona.  The  spoils  from  them  were  formerly 
,  housed  in  a  private  museum  attached  to  ]M.  Ivarapanos's 
residence  at  Athens,  but  he  has  since  presented  them  to 
the  National  Museum. 

The  English  of  jNI.  Karapanos  is  as  good  as  the  French 
of  M.  Zographos.  He  has  followed  the  diplomatic  career, 
and  we  discovered  we  had  lodged  in  the  same  house  at 
Pera.  Colonel  Doulis,  a  plain,  matter-of-fact  soldier,  I 
only  saw  for  a  few  moments.  He  was  off  on  a  tour  of  in- 
spection. In  Colonel  Botsaris  I  discovered  one  of  my 
fellow-passengers  from  Prevesa — he  was  in  mufti  then. 
He  has  retired  from  the  Greek  army,  but  has  taken  service 
for  Epirus.  A  man  of  courteous,  pleasant  manners,  he 
very  kindly  posted  me  up  in  the  topography  of  the  country. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  165 

Another  fellow-traveler  I  found  in  Count  Romas,  of 
Zante,  who  set  me  right  as  to  a  mistake  I  had  made  in  the 
site  of  Chiarenza.  Count  Romas,  although  Paris  was  his 
university,  also  speaks  English  and  has  English  family 
connections.  Of  stalwart  build  and  impressive  presence, 
his  companions  introduced  him  as  Hercules.  "A  Hercu- 
les in  weight,"  laughed  the  count.  He  went  through  both 
the  INIacedonian  and  Epirus  campaigns.  In  the  latter  he 
commanded  the  Greek  red- jackets,  was  at  the  taking  of 
Rizani,  and  was  wounded  at  Drisco.  He  is  not  a  member 
of  the  Provisional  Government,  but  he  is  engaged  in  rais- 
ing a  regiment  of  franc-tireurs.  He  is  a  Deputy  in  the 
Greek  Chamber,  and  has  been  its  President  several  times. 

Not  a  Pleasant  Picnic 

It  is  Lent,  and  the  Metropolitan  did  not  dine  with  us; 
but  I  saw  him  at  his  residence,  a  fine  figure  of  a  Greek 
ecclesiastic,  with  flowing  beard,  full  of  energy.  He  was 
pleased  to  know  I  had  been  at  Serres,  which  he  made  his 
diaconate,  and  told  how  he  had  once  buried  an  Englishman 
who  died  at  Avlona,  funeral  rites  having  been  refused  by 
the  Roman  priest  there,  and  how  the  family  in  England 
had  sent  him  all  sorts  of  presents  ever  since.  We  talked  at 
table  of  various  things — of  the  game  in  the  neighborhood 
— bear,  wild  boar  and  deer — scarcely  at  all  of  the  object 
which  had  brought  us  to  this  queer  little  town  among  the 
mountains. 

It  is  not  a  pleasant  picnic  for  these  cultured  men  of  the 
world,  all  of  them  used  to  other  surroundings.  There  is 
no  doubt  about  their  being  in  earnest.  They  have  sacri- 
ficed time,  money,  and  comfort,  some  of  them  a  career.  I 
spoke  of  the  boys  from  the  Jannina  Gymnasium  just  now. 
I  ought  to  have  given  place  aiioc  dames.  About  30  girls 
of  w^ll-to-do  families  of  Jannina  formed  a  league,  and  the 
married  ladies  followed  suit.  They  are  making  clothing 
for  the  soldiers  and  collecting  funds.  Miss  Iphigenia 
Georgitsis,  a  very  charming  girl,  whom  I  met  at  Jannina, 


166        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

is  one  of  the  leading  spirits.  They  have  made  an  appeal 
to  the  Epirote  ladies  settled  at  Athens  with  splendid  re- 
sults. The  Athenian  Epirotes  have  already  collected 
£4!,0()0  besides  much  in  kind.  A  hospital  is  being  organ- 
ized here  in  a  large  private  house. 

Two  English  ladies  came  here  yesterday  to  superintend 
the  nursing.  The  Chief  of  the  Commissariat  tells  me  that 
finances  are  in  a  sound  condition.  The  private  donations 
are  handsome,  and  the  taxes  are  being  regularly  collected. 
Nobody  can  tell  what  is  going  to  happen.  Tlie  burning 
question  of  the  moment  is  whether  the  Greek  troops  will 
evacuate  the  territory  in  three  days'  time,  as  they  are  sup- 
posed to  do;  and  if  they  evacuate,  will  the  Albanians 
attack  ? 

The  Present  Situation 

Whilst  I  was  talking  today  with  M.  Parmenides,  who 
acts  as  chief  of  the  Commissariat,  news  came  that  47  new 
men  had  come  to  join  the  forces.  M.  Parmenides,  who 
was  formerly  Greek  Consul  at  Boston,  Mass.,  and  speaks 
English  perfectly,  distingiiished  himself  during  the  war 
by  his  humane  efforts  to  lighten  the  sufferings  of  the  sol- 
diers exposed  to  the  rigours  of  winter  on  those  desolate 
heights.  He  is  not  an  Epirote  born,  but  knows  the  coun- 
try well.  His  home  is  in  Corfu,  but  he  knows  England 
well,  and  his  wife  is  English.  He  is  temperate  in  express- 
ing his  opinions,  and  they  are  worth  listening  to.  I  asked 
him  what  he  thought  would  be  the  upshot  of  the  present 
situation.  He  said  that  if  the  Greek  Government  with- 
drew its  troops  as  it  threatened  to  do  'Sve  should  have  to 
clear  out  the  Mohammedans  about  here."  There  are  some 
12,000  of  them,  and  they  have  not  been  disarmed.  We 
should  give  them  fair  warning,  but  they  would  have  to  go 
south  into  Greek  territory.  Certainly  not  north  to  join 
the  Albanian  hordes  which  might  attack  us  from  that 
direction.  But  it  is  my  personal  opinion  that  we  shall 
most  likely  come  to  terms  with  Albania. 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  ICTf 

"The  academic  friendship  of  England  and  France — 
what  has  it  been  worth  ?  Look  at  that  frontier  hne  on  the 
map.  It  turns  suddenly  southward  at  Yorgotsatis  and 
joins  the  sea  at  Cape  Pagalia,  excluding  a  great  district  in- 
habited by  Greek-speaking  people,  including  Delvino  and 
Hagia." 

"Is  it  not  monstrous?"  someone  present  interposed. 
"The  Albanians  have  been  granted  for  political  ends  a 
freedom  which  is  theirs  by  no  effort  of  their  own.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  they  wanted  it  even;  they  only  under- 
stand clanship.  For  the  same  nefarious  ends  they  have 
been  given  jurisdiction  over  a  people  superior  in  civiliza- 
tion to  themselves.  Better  to  have  remained  under  the 
Turks  as  we  were  for  400  years  than  this.  Under  them 
we  had  at  least  our  schools  and  privileges." 

I  asked  ^I.  Zographos,  President  of  the  Autonomous 
Northern  Epirus  in  1914,  to  give  me  his  candid  opinion 
of  the  settlement  arrived  at  by  the  European  powers.  He 
replied  at  once,  "Iniquitous!  What  was  the  use  of  a  Com- 
mission whose  decisions  were  guided  by  the  claims  of  two 
of  its  members?  I  cannot  understand  what  prompted 
Sir  Edward  Grey  to  propose  that  frontier.  Was  it  merely 
to  pacify  Italy?  Or  did  he  think  that  Greece  had  more 
than  enough  territory?  That  would  be  all  very  well  if  it 
were  in  an  African  desert.  But  this  is  not  a  question  of 
more  or  less  land,  but  of  nationality,  of  securing  a  decent 
existence  to  a  people. 

"I  am  inclined  to  think  that  an  ideal  State  would  have 
the  right  to  withdraw  from  the  individual  land  which  he 
neglected  to  cultivate,  and  the  principle  applies  with 
greater  force  to  a  collection  of  individuals,  call  it  a  tribe  or 
a  nation.  I  maintain  tliat  the  Albanian  clans  have  not 
arrived  at  a  degree  of  social  evolution  permitting  them  to 
form  even  a  conception  of  a  Constitutional  State.  They 
do  not  possess  the  qualities  needful  for  creating  and  ad- 
ministering one,  and  I  assert  that  the  Greeks  of  Epirus  do 
possess  such  qualities." 


APPENDIX  D 

Communication  of  the  Honorable  Pember  Ree\^s, 

ex-Governor  of  New  Zealand,  to  the  "Daily 

Chronicle"  of  April  11,  1914 

"Sir, — The  letters  from  j^our  correspondent  in  Epirus 
sliould  be  extremely  valuable,  because  in  the  writer  we  have 
one  who  knows  the  history  and  nation  and  speaks  the 
language  of  the  country  about  which  he  writes.  The 
peaceful,  almost  idyllic,  picture  of  Southern  Epirus  which 
he  sketches  shows  what  life  may  be  in  a  part  of  the  Balkan 
peninsula  where  the  Great  Powers  cease  from  troubling. 

"On  the  other  hand,  abundant  testimony  from  many 
sources  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  Northern  Epirus  and  in 
Albania  proper  shows  into  what  plight  the  same  Great 
Powers  bring  provinces  of  whose  fate  they  make  them- 
selves the  arbiters,  and  where  the  agents  of  some  of  them 
are  ever  busy.  In  Northern  Epirus  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment set  up  by  the  inhabitants  holds  most  of  the  West 
and  the  Center.  The  Northeast  is  mainly  in  the  hands 
of  Albanians,  some  supporting  Prince  William,  some 
hoisting  Turkish  colors.  Certain  posts  are  still  held  by 
Greek  troops,  which  INIr.  Venizelos  hesitates  to  withdraw. 
Their  presence  there  hinders  the  Epirotes  from  expelling 
the  Albanians  from  the  Kaza  of  Korytsa,  a  contingency 
which  the  Greek  Government,  for  diplomatic  reasons, 
seems  anxious  to  avoid.  The  telegraph  to  Korytza  was  cut 
a  fortnight  ago  so  all  news  from  that  quarter  must  be  ac- 
cepted with  reserve.  There  has  been  a  certain  amount  of 
fighting,  notably  at  Odritzani,  where  the  Albanians,  after 
trying  a  night  attack  on  the  Epirotes,  were  beaten  with 
loss  and  left  two  machine  guns  in  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

168 


AT  THE  PEACE  CONFERENCE  169 

There  is  no  question  of  the  ability  of  the  Greek  Epirotes 
to  defend  themselves  against  Albania.  They  are  well 
armed  and  outnmnber  the  drilled  Albanian  gendarmerie 
many  times. 

"They  are  not  asking  for  justice;  that  of  course  would 
be  union  with  Greece.  They  ask  for  the  guarantee  of  a 
tolerable  existence. 

"The  Great  Powers  are  supposed  to  be  deciding  what: 
they  will  do.  Already  certain  European  papers  are 
clamoring  that  international  forces  be  used  in  Epirus — 
in  other  words,  that  the  Greek  Epirotes  should  be  shot 
down. 

"Before  the  'Shoot  'em  down!'  policy  is  considered,  much 
less  adopted  by  the  Great  Powers,  I  would  appeal  to  you 
and  to  your  readers  to  scan  these  terms  put  forward  by 
the  unfortunate  Epirotes.  I  would  ask  them  to  consider 
whether  the  demands  are  excessive,  coming  as  they  do,  from 
an  educated,  civilized.  Christian  people  who,  to  please 
Italy,  and  Austria,  and  for  no  other  reason,  are  being 
forced  under  the  rule  of  Moslem  savages,  whose  chief  in- 
dustry is  professional  brigandage.  It  is  usual  to  compare 
the  case  of  the  Epirotes  with  that  of  the  Ulster  Protestants, 
but  the  analogy,  though  by  no  means  fanciful,  is  anything 
but  exact.  Nobody  proposes,  at  the  dictation  of  Austria 
and  Italy — to  expel  the  Ulster  Protestants  from  the 
British  Empire,  or  to  put  them  under  a  foreign  flag. 
Ulster  has  not  been  proclaimed  a  part  of  some  savage 
country,  say  JNIorocco.  No  one  has  suggested  that  her 
peoj^le  should  call  themselves  Arabs  or  Abyssinians,  that 
they  should  lose  the  protection  of  the  British  Army,  or 
fleet,  or  be  regarded  as  aliens  by  the  British  Parliament. 
They  are  not  to  be  ruled  by  a  German  Prince  or  deprived 
of  votes  and  Parliamentary  institutions.  The  Irish  Na- 
tionalists may  have  their  faults,  but  they  are  civilized 
Christians.  The  roughest  of  them  are  not  brutal  bandits, 
whose  hands  during  the  past  18  months  have  been  red  with 
the  blood  of  Ulster  peasants.     Mr.  John  Redmond  has 


170        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

many  critics,  but  his  bitterest  enemies  have  never  likened 
him  to  Essad  Pasha.  I  would  invite  you  and  any  fair 
minded  reader  of  yours  interested  in  the  matter  to  in- 
quire into  Essad  Pasha's  record.  When  they  have  ascer- 
tained it  they  will,  I  am  convinced,  agree  that  in  refusing 
to  place  themselves,  their  wives,  children  and  property, 
under  the  despotic  rule  of  such  a  person,  the  Epirotes  are 
only  striving  for  the  primary  rights  of  man.  For  Essad 
Pasha  is  just  now  the  virtual  ruler  of  Albania,  in  so  far 
as  Albania  has  a  ruler  at  all. 

'W.  P.  Reeves." 


APPENDIX  E 

Communication  of  the  Geeek  Ambassador  at  London, 

J.  Gennadius,  to  the  London  "Times"  of 

April  20,  1914 

The  Greek  Ambassador  at  London  in  a  letter  to  the 
London  Times,  April  20th,  1914,  wrote: 
"To  the  Editor  of  the  Times: 

"Sir, — In  your  issue  of  the  14th  inst.,  you  pubhshed 
under  the  heading  of  'Greek  Responsibility  for  Epirus 
Rising,'  a  telegram  received  by  the  Hon.  Aubrey  Herbert, 
^I.P.,  from  an  anonymous  'Protestant  Albanian  Mission- 
ary,' at  Korytsa,  containing  the  most  sweeping  allegations 
against  the  Greek  Government  and  the  Greek  authorities. 
Similar  allegations,  equally  reckless  and  unauthenticated, 
appeared  in  subsequent  issues  of  The  Times. 

"I  am  instructed  by  my  Government  to  give  a  formal 
and  unquahfied  contradiction  to  the  suggestion  that  the 
Hellenic  Government  has  in  any  way  encouraged  or  as- 
sisted the  revolutionary  movement  in  Epirus.  It  has 
already  been  stated  officially  in  the  British  Parhament  that 
the  Greek  Government  has  carried  out  loyally  the 
promises  made  by  His  Excellency  M.  Venizelos  to  the 
Powers;  and  this  fact  is  admitted  and  freely  recognized 
by  the  diplomatic  representatives  of  the  Powers  in  Athens. 
Not  only  this,  but  the  Greek  Government  have  taken  steps, 
in  respect  to  the  Epirote  rising  much  more  severe  than 
those  promises  entailed.  As  a  consequence  of  these  excep- 
tional and,  in  some  instances,  unprecedented  measures,  the 
relations  between  the  Greek  Government  and  M.  Zo- 
graphos  have  been  strained  to  the  breaking  point,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  feeling  aroused  in  Greece  itself. 

171 


172        THE  QUESTION  OF  NORTHERN  EPIRUS 

"jNIoreover,  His  Majesty  King  Constantine,  as  Supreme 
Chief  of  the  Army,  has  given  the  most  stringent  orders 
with  a  view  to  preventing  desertions  to  the  revolutionary 
forces;  and  although  there  have  been  individual  cases  of 
disobedience  to  these  orders,  their  number  is  insignificant; 
while  the  repeated  attempts  made  by  the  revolutionists 
to  seize  guns  and  ammunition  have  been  frustrated  by  the 
vigilance  of  the  Greek  authorities. 

"As  regards  the  alleged  massacres,  the  Greek  Govern- 
ment has  received  no  reliable  information  so  far.  It  must, 
however,  be  kept  in  mind  that  a  state  of  civil  war  exists 
in  the  territories  in  question,  and  that  the  excesses  re- 
ported correspond  exactly  to  the  terrible  sufferings  which 
the  Christians  of  Epirus  endured  for  many  generations  at 
the  hands  of  the  Albanian  jNIussulmans. 

"Finally,  the  Greek  Government  deem  it  necessary  to 
point  out  that  the  lamentable  conditions  which  undoubtedly 
prevail  in  Southern  Albania,  and  which  there  is  every  rea- 
son to  fear  will  rapidly  grow  worse,  would  have  been 
obviated  had  the  Powers  entertained  the  suggestions  made 
in  the  Greek  Note  of  February  21  for  the  protection  of 
the  legitimate  rights,  interests  and  lives  of  the  Christian 
populations. 

"Relying  on  the  traditional  fairness  and  courtesy  of  The 
Tillies,  I  request  you.  Sir,  to  give  to  the  entire  text  of  this 
official  and  responsible  communication  the  same  prominent 
publicity  which  you  accorded  to  the  unverified,  mostly 
anonymous  and  unfair  statements,  which  we  are  con- 
strained to  notice  since  they  have  appeared  in  your 
columns. 

"I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.   GeNX^U)IUS. 

"14  De  Vere  Gardens,  April  19th." 


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